


Family History

by rationalbookworm



Series: Super Old/Abandoned Works [11]
Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: F/M, I hardly even remember this, but I wasn't really interested to continue it, so it gets a little crappier about halfway through, super old, this was supposed to have a part three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 52,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rationalbookworm/pseuds/rationalbookworm
Summary: Family isn't always about blood...but sometimes it helps. Billie and Josie discover their family while flying through time in a little blue box.One of the first fanfictions I ever wrote. Don't really remember any of it, but hopefully it's still good.Originally poster August 2013-May 2017
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Jack Harkness, Ninth Doctor/Original Female Character(s), Tenth Doctor/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Super Old/Abandoned Works [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1442953
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue: Human Plus

A groan. Stirring.

Jack jolted up from his slumped position on the chair in the corner. He started nodding off an hour ago when it became clear that neither the Professor nor the Doctor could do anything to wake the comatose girls. Glancing around the room for the source of the noise, he found both Josie and Billie still laid out on their cots, crisp white blankets covering their bodies to keep them warm. The Doctor was slumped over in his chair, overcoat and jacket gone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, arms crossed on Josie’s bed, and his head laying close to her body. His gravity defying hair was in even more disarray than usual from the amount of times he’d run his hands through it. The Professor was leaning back in his own chair on the other side of the room beside Billie’s bed, head lolling on his shoulders and one arm outstretched to hold onto her hand. He too was missing his leather jacket, however, unlike the Doctor’s, it was still in sight, wrapped around Billie’s shoulders.

Jack grinned as he recalled the Professor gently lifting the unconscious human to put it there, ignoring the pointed stare the other male was throwing him. That poor daft alien was always so overprotective of Billie, but to actually wrap her up in his own coat as if that would help her recover was going a bit far. Jack had opened his mouth to say something teasing to the older man but snapped his mouth shut when the Professor sent him the most intense scowl he’d ever gotten. Not even when he first met the two Time Lords and tried to con them did he get such a heated glare. If looks could kill…

Another groan brought him back to reality. Hard. His eyes darted to both girls, trying to figure out which one was coming back to them. Billie stirred slightly, her eyes tightening as her nose scrunched up and her head turned toward the Professor, as if instinctively knowing he was there. At the same moment, he caught Josie twitch, her hand accidentally smacking the Doctor in the face causing him to jump and nearly fall out of his chair. Jack laughed as he jumped up to stand between the two women he considered sisters, unsure of which one to go to first.

“They’re waking up,” he exclaimed excitedly at the Doctor’s dumbfounded expression. The Professor shot out of his chair, his hand tightening around Billie’s as he leaned over her, eyes scanning her face for any sign of consciousness as the Doctor did the same to Josie, squeezing her hand in hopes of getting a reaction.

“Doctor…” the hoarse whisper floated up from the redhead, making the Doctor’s face split into a large grin.

“Hello,” he said breathlessly, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Hello,” she answered with a weak grin.

Billie seemed to be waking up as well, the Professor bent so low over her form, Jack could swear he saw his lips brush hers momentarily as he whispered to her, too low for anyone else to hear.

It was quite a while before either couple took notice of Jack again. Billie was now sitting up, the Professor sitting behind her, holding her against his chest like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go, while across the room Josie was being scanned by the Doctor who was babbling away a mile a minute so not even his brother would be able to understand him.

Billie rolled her eyes and waved Jack over to give him a hug, “God, it’s good to be back.”

He chuckled, rubbing her back lightly before he let go, “Good to have you back, Jeanie. No more scaring us like that, okay?”

She smiled weakly, leaning back into the Professor’s embrace, “Promise.”

The Professor sighed as he momentarily buried his nose in her hair, “Want to tell us what you’re doing, Theta.”

He was quiet, staring wide-eyed at the screen beside Josie’s cot, one hand still grasped in the redhead’s. His mouth opened and closed a few times, imitating a fish.

“Doctor,” Josie tugged on his hand to gain his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he whispered, turning to stare at her in shock. “Absolutely nothing. That’s the problem. Both you and Billie show no signs that anything has happened.”

Josie’s brow wrinkled, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes, of course,” he nodded hurriedly, “But there should be _something_ to show that you almost…to show what just happened. But by the look of these tests you two may as well have been just napping.”

Jack gaped at the Doctor, sinking down onto the cot beside the Professor and Billie, “So…what does that mean?”

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Well, I…er…may have done a more thorough exam when the abnormality popped up…”

“And?” the Professor hissed, tired of the Doctor’s rambling.

“Well…Josie and Billie…aren’t…exactly….human.”

There was a beat of silence before four confused voices shouted, “What!”

The Doctor spun back to the monitor, babbling about extra chromosomes and familiar DNA. Jack pretty much tuned him out, moving to look over his shoulder to see for himself. He was shocked to not only see samples of blood from Josie and Billie labeled on the screen but also one from himself. A few strands were highlighted in each, showing similarities. “They’re Human Plus…like me.”

The Doctor nodded, “Very much like you, actually.”

“Wait,” Josie ordered. “What does that mean?”

“A hundred or so years in your future humans begin to evolve. Their basic structures change with every new world they discover, altering so they can survive in each new place until, around Jack’s time, they become what people call Human Plus, though only those who travel often through space _and_ time have this level of change. Your cells have already started slowing down. At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if you stopped aging altogether soon. That’s about twice as fast as Jack.”

“So,” Billie tilted her head to the side in thought. “We became Human Plus when we started traveling with you?”

“Yes and no,” the Professor answered, sounding a little shell-shocked. “The only way for you to change on that level would be if you were born with that potential. Potential someone from your time shouldn’t have.” He subconsciously gripped her a little tighter.

“I really don’t understand,” Josie frowned.

“There’s more,” the Doctor said, now more eagerly. “It seemed like they were all just a little too similar so I took an even _closer_ look. If you look here, here, and here, you’ll see more than just similarities. They’re _exactly_ the same.”

Jack’s eyes widened in understanding, “But…but that means…” a smile began to form on his face. He’d never thought this would be possible. How _was_ this possible?

The Doctor nodded, smiling slightly at the girls as he explained, “It seems, not only are you Human Plus, but you also have the same father.”

“What!” both girls shouted.

“And,” he continued, ignoring them as he pushed Jack in front of them, gesturing to him dramatically, “Meet your big brother, Jack Harkness.”


	2. Animal City: Visions of the Future

Josie jolted awake, springing up into a sitting position as her eyes darted throughout the room to assure herself that she was actually awake. It had been a few months since she’d found out she, Billie, and Jack were related and they were all Human Plus. And it had been even longer since she’d had a vision come out of nowhere like that. She’d become rather proficient at seeing the signs of one approaching, but somehow she’d missed this one until she fell asleep and got caught in its web.

The light suddenly flicked on, startling her further until she saw the Doctor’s lanky form in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking adorable in a pair of pinstripe pajama bottoms and no top. She filed away the image for later as she slumped against the headboard and patted the space next to her, signaling him to drop down under the covers, still half asleep.

“Tell me about it,” he prompted, knowing she wouldn’t say anything otherwise.

She shuddered, curling close to the alien for comfort. She didn’t begin whispering her answer until after he had wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer, and tucked her head securely under his chin, “Billie. And…and blood. There was so much blood.”

“Shh,” he hushed, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “It’s alright. Nothing will happen to Billie, I promise.”

But they both knew the truth. Josie’s visions always came true, no matter what. Still, as the Doctor sank down into her bed, gently tugging her down against him, Josie couldn’t help but relax. Her muscles went slack as she curled herself against the alien’s chest, his double heart beat pounding against her ear and his comforting scent wafting up her nose as his hand rubbed soothing circles into her back. When sleep finally found her once more, Josie was relieved to find her dreams nightmare and vision free. Instead they were filled with laughter and a dark haired, blue eyed baby boy, toddling around the TARDIS.

A few hours later, she eased back into consciousness, acutely aware of the lack of a warm body next to hers. She frowned, stretching out without bothering to get up before blinking around her room. The lack of evidence of her late night visitor had her doubting her horrid vision. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Rolling out of bed with a grunt, Josie quickly went through her morning routine, ignoring the voice in her head that was remarkably like the Doctor’s saying there was no morning on the TARDIS, and went out in search of food.

Billie was standing at the stove flipping banana pancakes, judging by the smell, and humming to herself while the stereo played a popular station from their home time. Jack was sitting at the table sipping coffee and reading a paper from _his_ time with a small smile. The Professor sat next to him, sleeves of his leather jacket and jumper pushed up as he tinkered with something that looked suspiciously like the toaster that had went missing last week. The Doctor was still nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t really a surprise. For aliens not needing much sleep, it was almost always the Doctor that stumbled into the kitchen last in the mornings. Josie wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he got up to before joining them.

“Morning,” she mumbled, moving around the table, kissing Jack on the top of the head, and grabbing her favorite Disneyland mug she’d gotten from the thirty-third century. It had been their first trip since Amy’s wedding and had been a bit of a vacation. They spent the day riding every ride and meeting as many characters as possible. Josie and Billie had even gotten princess makeovers. Billie as Belle and Josie as Ariel. It had been fun and Josie could honestly say she would love to go back sometime, but with them not aging anymore (or aging really, really slowly. Whatever) it could wait a few decades.

“Morning,” Jack murmured around a yawn.

“Good morning,” Billie said, handing her a large plate of pancakes for the table as Josie poured a cup of coffee for herself, adding milk and sugar. The Professor just grunted as Billie shuffled over, nudging him to take his things off the table so they could eat. Josie bit her tongue to stop a chuckle, meeting Jack’s equally amused gaze over his paper. Billie had seemed to settle into a mothering type of roll for most of them, though Jack often joked that that meant the Professor must be their father figure. Internally, Josie could kind of see that even if he wasn’t the greatest father figure around, but she’d keep that insight to herself.

They had just begun to dig in when the Doctor came in, hands buried in the pockets of his brown pinstripe pants. “Gooooood morning, all!” he called cheerfully, plopping down into the only empty seat between Josie and the Professor. He thanked Billie for his favorite breakfast, smacking his lips unnecessarily making Josie giggle and the Professor roll his eyes though he too was digging in enthusiastically.

At first Josie was too distracted by her own breakfast to see it, but eventually she caught the Doctor eyeing Billie carefully as if waiting for her to collapse where she was sitting closer than necessary to the Professor. Her stomach churned, her appetite disappearing as her vision from the night before flashed through her mind once more. Her eyes locked with the Doctor’s and he smiled sadly. She took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. She’d be watching Billie closer than normally as well. It wasn’t that she thought she could stop her vision, but at least she’d be able to be there for her newly found sister whenever it did come to pass.

* * *

“So I was thinking,” Billie began, walking into the console room where the rest of her traveling family were lounging around. The Professor immediately looked up from beneath the console at the sound of her voice. They’d been sticking together even more than before Amy’s wedding. She just felt safer when she could feel his presence, whether in her head or physically next to her. Plus, her experience with the future Professor in her mind had given her confidence in her growing feelings that she hadn’t had before. She was hoping the close proximity could help ease their relationship into something more than just close friendship.

“Why do I get the feeling that we should be worried?” Josie joked from where she was leaning against Jack on the jump seat.

Billie stuck her tongue out at her, her childish side coming out momentarily, “Just listen. I was thinking, Jack has traveled all over the twenty-first century, but we have only been a couple times to the fifty-first. And even then it wasn’t on Earth. Or well, on a part of Earth we will not be discussing.” All five travelers shuddered at the memory.

“ _Feeling sentimental?_ ” the Professor’s voice teased in her head. “ _He’ll love it._ ”

She smiled at the Professor before turning to her brother, “I for one would love to see the world you grew up in.”

Jack’s smile lit up the whole room, “Really?” He glanced at Josie who was bouncing excitedly, her grin a mile wide.

“Oh, this is gonna be so much fun,” she chattered. “Can we go shopping while we’re there? And the food! We need to try something very fifty-first century! Oh! We should go to a city we’ve never been to before! That will make even more fun!” As she spoke the Doctor came up behind her, finally managing to land a hand over her mouth, muffling her voice though she still attempted to speak through it, making everyone laugh for a moment.

“I think that’s a yes,” the Doctor chuckled before exclaiming loudly and pulling his hand away from Josie. “You licked me!”

She shrugged, “Taste of your own medicine. You lick everything.”

The Doctor began to pout as everyone moved to their positions around the TARDIS console. The two Time Lords had decided, as they had enough people to fly it properly, that their companions should learn how to fly. Though Jack had learned long before Billie and Josie first stepped aboard, it was different when some many hands had to work together and only three of the owners of said hands were telepathic. Still, it wasn’t long before they were working together like a well-oiled machine, moving around and with each other as if dancing around the controls. Billie couldn’t help but smile as she spun a dial and pushed down a giant yellow button.

They landed with a jolt, each hanging on for dear life so as not to be thrown across the room. Billie chuckled watching Josie let out a squeal as she landed on her butt unexpectedly. They all got up from their various sprawled positions, dusted themselves off, and headed for the door, Jack and Josie excitedly leading the way followed closely by the Doctor who never could deny his manic energy. Billie hung back with the Professor, their hands intertwining between them. She smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder as he pressed a kiss to her hair and led her out the door after their family.

“Oh yes!” Jack called happily. “My dear sisters,” he reached back and tugged a reluctant Billie forward, though she managed to hang on to the Professor’s hand, bringing him with her. Josie stood on Jack’s other side, their arms linked while her other hand held the Doctor’s. Jack wrapped his free arm around Billie’s shoulders, hugging her against him, “Welcome to LA.”


	3. Animal City: Surprises

Josie had, quite literally, dragged her all over the five story shopping mall in the heart of LA. On her best day, she might not have minded, but the fact of the matter was, she wasn’t feeling particularly loving toward her sister since the ginger had pulled her away from the Professor’s side at the same time as Jack pulled the boys off to God knows where. She didn’t feel very comfortable being this far away from him right now. Even after all this time she was feeling unsteady after the Caxer nearly overpowered her and having the Professor nearby seemed to ease some of the ache in her mind. At least she could still feel him in her mind. The alien had decided that if they were forced to spend the next few hours apart, they may as well practice her long-range telepath abilities, which were, honestly, a bit dismal.

At first they had merely been talking about random stuff they saw in shop windows and people watching. Once he felt she was handling that well he moved on to actually showing her things he saw, projecting pictures into her mind. It took a lot of concentration, but she managed to return the favor a couple times. A small headache was starting to form at her temples, but so far she’d been able to ignore it and he didn’t show any signs of noticing.

Currently he was in the middle of showing her how Jack had spectacularly failed at flirting with a woman who was clearly alien. According to the Professor she was part of a species that only had females, no males, and so was forced to cross-breed, humans being the husband of choice more often than not. Unfortunately they tended to eat the males afterward. Luckily, Jack had stumbled upon one of the few lesbians in that species.

Billie bit her lip to keep from laughing which quickly faded into a scowl as Josie shoved another stack of party dresses into her arms. She sighed, “You do realize the TARDIS has more than enough clothes for us, don’t you? We don’t actually _need_ to buy anything.”

“Bite your tongue,” Josie shook her head. “And besides, I never said anything about actually purchasing anything, now did I? It’s just fun to try on clothes.”

Billie rolled her eyes but decided not to argue. It wasn’t like her sister would listen anyway. Instead, she trudged to the dressing rooms with her armful of clothes. It turned out Josie was right. Billie had fun trying on the dresses, some more outrageous than others and pretend to walk a catwalk with her sister up and down the hall of dressing rooms. It seemed their laughter and goofiness was contagious as they soon had the whole store, employees included, playing along. The manager even started commentating on the clothes with the loudspeaker. She could even feel amusement drifting over her link with the Professor and realized belatedly that she’d been projecting images of the impromptu fashion show to him. He’d been right. It _was_ easier with practice. With that thought she heard a smug, “ _I told you so_.”

An all-too familiar catcall and wolf whistle had her head whipping around until she spotted Jack leaning against a far wall and clearly enjoying himself as women began to strut their stuff in bikinis. She rolled her eyes and flagged down Josie who agreed to change and pay for the few things they were actually going to buy.

The manager met them at the counter with a wide smile. “Oh no. For you ladies, it’s on the house,” he said when Billie tried to hand over her credit stick.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why?” Josie asked curiously.

“You’re kidding right?” he chuckled. “I haven’t made this much profit since Christmas. Your little fashion show drew in a lot of customers for this time of year. This is the least I can do.” He finished bagging their clothes and handed them over, “Please feel free to come back anytime.”

“Oh most definitely,” Josie grinned, turning on her heel to skip off to where Jack was waiting for them. Billie thanked the manager one more time before following.

Glancing around, Billie quickly discovered their lack of two Time Lords. Frowning, she mentally asked the Professor where he was and immediately got a picture of a ship parts shop in response. She shrugged and made him promise to meet with them later before focusing on the conversation in front of her.

“Teach and Doc had to find a few spare parts for the TARDIS,” Jack was explaining. “So I thought I’d take this opportunity to give you both my surprise.”

“Surprise?” Josie asked, practically vibrating in excitement. “What surprise?”

Jack grinned, looping their arms through his as he led them away, “Think of it as a way to make up all those birthdays I wasn’t there for.”

Billie snorted, “You didn’t even know we existed, let alone that we were your sisters. It’s hardly your fault if you’ve missed stuff.”

“Yeah,” the ginger agreed. “It’s our no-good-dirty-rotten father who’s to blame.”

Jack shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Out of the three of them, he was the only one who actually remembered their father. Billie, of course, was a product of a one night stand (something her mother never failed to remind her of) and their dad left Josie’s mom when she was still a toddler. Neither woman had any reason to be particularly endeared to the man. But Jack had had an actual father up until his teens when he joined the Time Agency. He didn’t have a reason to curse their father’s name, as far as Billie knew, so she tried not to slander the man too much, even if Jack admitted to having a great dislike for him, especially now.

Their conversation drifted to much more amiable topics as they meandered through the crowds, only Jack knowing exactly where they were headed. With a sigh, Billie rested her head on her brother’s shoulder. Not that she didn’t enjoy exploring new places and all the excitement that came with it, but she really enjoyed these moments most. The quiet moments when it was just her and those she cared for happily spending lazy days together, being goofy and playful or having those serious, defining moments. She didn’t care which one as long as she could sequester herself off with them for a while. Maybe they could have another movie night later…

Her pleasant, languid thoughts were abruptly cut off by a person slamming into her side and unbalancing her enough to disrupt Jack. He reached out to steady her as she turned to see who had plowed into her, but whoever it was had disappeared into the crowd again.

“Ow!” Josie hissed, hand slapping over her neck. With a frown she rubbed the spot, “I think a bug just bit me.”

Jack chuckled and shook his head, “C’mon, let’s get to the store before you two really start something.”

Josie playfully slapped his chest as he threw his arms over their shoulders. Billie allowed herself to be pulled along while her eyes continued to scan the crowd. She didn’t know why, but her gut was screaming at her right now. Something was not quite right.

* * *

From the shadows, a pair of pink eyes trailed after the trio as they headed back into the crowd. Two down, three to go.

* * *

Josie squealed loudly, making Jack and Billie wince, “Really? You’re really gonna let us get tattoos?”

Jack chuckled and ruffled her hair making her growl, “Of course. I thought we all could.”

“Is it safe?” Billie asked, following her overeager sister and amused brother.

“Of course,” Jack gently pushed her to a holofolder containing examples. “They don’t even use needles anymore. Zero chance of infection. I wouldn’t bring you guys otherwise.”

Billie nodded, leaning on an elbow as she flipped through the choices. Seeing that she wouldn’t need any help for some time, Jack wandered over to his other, youngest sister who was watching an explanatory video. Tattoos in the fifty-first century were done using nanobots. The costumer just had to swallow a little pill and the tiny robots would ink the skin from the inside out, programed with where and what ahead of time.

“It’s that easy?” she asked, sounding a bit bewildered.

“Yep,” he shrugged. “Never felt the need to get one till now, but I thought it’d be something we could do together. Plus isn’t there some rule about older brothers taking their siblings to get their first tattoo?”

Josie giggled, shaking her head, “Wouldn’t know, would I? Still, I think we should all get matching tattoos. It’ll mean more then.”

Jack smiled softly. God, it was nice to finally have this sense of family again. Sure, he considered his team back home as a sort of pseudo-family, but this just felt different, more secure. His team, while he trusted them impeccably, still sometimes looked at him like _he_ was the alien in the room. He could understand that to an extent, after all they were simple humans while he was…more. Being with them would never have the sense of belonging that being with Josie and Billie did. He really never wanted this to end.

“Oh, I know! We should get the TARDIS,” Josie said excitedly.

“No,” Billie answered from across the room. “I’d rather not have to explain back home why I have a police call box for a tattoo.”

“True. Well, we need something memorable.”

“Memorable or meaningful.”

“Touché.”

Jack grinned at his sister’s bickering, eyes making contact with the shop owner briefly. The man was rather large and the stereotypical tattoo artist. He shook his head at the girls before moving on to another costumer who was ready. Suddenly he felt someone nudge him out of the way to grab a holofolder. He moved closer to his sisters slightly without looking back.

“Why don’t we just get each other’s names?” he asked finally.

Josie groaned, “That’s so cliché, Sparrow. We need something more unique.”

He rolled his eyes but shrugged, “I just don’t think we’re gonna get more meaningful then our names, or at the very least initials.”

“Names,” Billie said slowly, flagging down the owner as he emerged from the back. “Do you have a paper and pencil I could borrow?”

He nodded, handing her the requested objects without batting an eye.

“What are you doing?” Josie asked, leaning on her sister’s back to look over her shoulder at the paper.

“I have an idea. It’ll be meaningful and unique, and as an added bonus, it has a link to the Professor and the Doctor.”

Jack moved closer curiously, glancing at Billie’s work as a smile spread across his face. It was perfect.

* * *

Three down, two to go.


	4. Animal City: A Lazy Smile

The Professor frowned as he spotted the three Harknesses walking arm-in-arm out of the tattoo parlor. Each Human-Plus had a wide grin on their faces while they chatted excitedly, bags hanging off the girls’ free hands. He stepped forward, the Doctor tearing himself away from a display of new holographic televisions to follow after him. They met the trio halfway through the walkway, people parting to make room for their small group. Billie’s eyes snapped up the moment he was within sight and her small grin blew up into a beaming smile as she detangled herself from Jack’s side and practically skipped to the Professor’s. The Doctor chuckled, moving to join Josie and Jack.

The alien turned his attention to the girl now grasping his hand with a lazy smile, “ _What were you three doing in there?_ ” He wasn’t sure why he continued using telepathy, but it seemed natural when he was conversing with Billie.

She shrugged, leaning her head on his shoulder as if she were suddenly tired, “ _Jack wanted to get us something to make up for all the gift-giving occasions he’s missed. I told him he didn’t have to but he insisted._ ” She stifled a yawn as they began to move after the others, a decision to go eat having been agreed upon while they were distracted.

His earlier frown returned, deeper, “ _So he thought a tattoo was the best choice?_ ”

A slim arm wound around his waist and squeezed reassuringly, “ _Sort of. The three of us got matching tattoos. I’ll tell you about it later. We just thought, since he has to go back to his team eventually, it’d be nice to have something that would constantly be there as a reminder of each other, you know?_ ”

He nodded as he draped his arm across her shoulders, pulling her closer so that they could avoid running into a woman with a floating stroller. It wasn’t that he blamed them for wanting a memento of their time together, but it would have been nice to be included in the decision-making process. Leaving him and the Doctor out kind of made him feel like the Time Lords weren’t seen as family to them. And when Jack, Josie, and Billie were the only real things (besides the TARDIS) they had in life, it hurt to think they didn’t feel the same. He shook his head. No, they all cared deeply for the aliens. After all, Billie mentioned Jack leaving, not her or Josie. Clearly his insecurities were unfounded, though he couldn’t quite shake all of the uncertainty that had settled in his stomach.

Billie yawned widely again, growling a little at the end in annoyance, distracting him from his mental rant and making him chuckle, though he was a little worried. She hadn’t seemed all that tired earlier, and they hadn’t done anything strenuous today. And yet she was leaning heavily into his side, blinking rapidly as if struggling to stay awake.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, his spoken voice seeming to shake her out of a drowsy stupor.

She blinked up at him for a second before sharply shaking her head to focus, “Yeah. Sorry. Guess I didn’t sleep too well last night.”

The Professor found himself frowning yet again. He knew that was a lie. Since the Caxer incident, he’d taken to slipping into her room at night to help keep the nightmares at bay, sometimes invited, other times after she’d already drifted off. It was the least he could do seeing as she did the same for him whenever the Time War haunted him at night. So he knew for a fact that she had slept rather heavily last night, light snores filling the otherwise silent room as her face was pressed into the crook of his neck, breath tickling his sensitive skin. Whatever was happening to her now, was something she felt the need to hide from him, and that alone made panic begin to rise in his chest.

“Billie,” he began slowly, trying to think of a way to voice his concerns. Sometimes he really hated how hard it was for him to communicate his emotions. Normally Billie could just tell, he wouldn’t have to say anything, but she seemed too distracted by something and he didn’t want to invade her privacy by looking for it in her mind without her permission.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a man suddenly knocked into his free shoulder, the one Billie wasn’t leaning against. It wasn’t hard enough to jolt him, but enough for him to notice. He glanced up, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary, but everything around him looked very typical for an LA mall in the middle of the day.

Josie spun around and walked backwards so she could talk to her sister, drawing him back to the matter at hand, “So, you wanna go to that club Jack was telling us about?”

Billie was shaking her head before the Professor even had time to form an argument, “I don’t really feel up to it, Josie.”

The ginger tilted her head, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing really. I just feel a little off. I think I’d rather go back to the TARDIS and lay down for a while. Maybe pop some popcorn and watch a movie or something.”

The Professor didn’t miss the looks of concern Josie traded with the Doctor.

“Do you want us to come with you?” the younger woman asked hesitantly.

“No, you guys go have fun. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“If you’re sure…” Josie continued to hesitate, now grasping the Doctor’s arm so she wouldn’t trip as she continued to walk backwards.

Billie laughed lightly, “Yes, I am. Seriously. We’ll do something fun tomorrow. Maybe the beach?”

Josie’s smile brightened at the thought and she nodded as she spun back around, “Deal.”

The Professor glanced down at the top of Billie’s head where she was resting it against him, “ _Do you want me to stay with you?_ ”

It was a moment before he received her timid reply, “ _Please._ ”

He smiled, pressing his lips to her crown as Jack finally led them to a small burger place for lunch.

* * *

“Four down, Master,” the high-pitched voice squeaked from the shadows as another form materialized beside it.

“One to go,” it said with a nasally voice, clapping a hand on the other’s shoulder, “You have done well, Tak.”

Glee shown out of the pale bald man’s face though he tried to reign in as he bowed his head, “Thank you, Master.”

“Tell me, Tak,” the equally pale man asked, raising a glass vial filled with bright yellow liquid to look at more clearly, his pure white eyes gleaming. “Which ones have you fed them?”

“Well,” Tak’s pink eyes stared adoringly at his Master. “As you know, I can only infect them with what they already hold within themselves. I have used Lust, Greed, Wrath, and Sloth, so far.”

“And the last?”

“I do not know, Master. I will know more when I can get closer.”

“Of course,” the taller man nodded, turning back to eye the Time Lords and their companions as they entered an eating establishment. “Soon. Soon my family, our people, will be avenged for what that scum has done to us.”

* * *

After a quick meal, the time travelers retreated to the TARDIS. Jack and Josie disappeared into the wardrobe while the Doctor shrugged and lowered himself under the console to do minor repairs. It would be a while before the humans reemerged in clothes they deemed appropriate for going out. The Professor ignored his brother, reaching down as Billie swayed slightly on her feet and picked her up bridal style. She blinked up at him, shocked to suddenly be lifted up into the air.

“ _Alright?_ ”

She nodded weakly, stifling yet another yawn with the back of her hand, “ _I don’t know what’s wrong with me._ ”

Her mental voice had taken on a slightly worried edge, making the Professor’s strides quicken as he carried her to her room. The plain mahogany door came into view before he spotted his own room across the hall. He hesitated for half a second before sighing and carrying into his own Spartan room. Or what used to be Spartan. Though Billie only spent a very little amount of time in here, she’d asked the TARDIS to add in some comfortable, overstuffed armchairs, footstools, and a fireplace on one wall and his bookshelves actually had books and knickknacks she’d picked up for him on various adventures. His bedding was no longer a dull gray but a dark midnight blue. Even the walls had a bit of cream color instead of plain white.

Gently he eased the half-conscious girl from his arms onto his bed, sitting down on the edge to tug off her trainers. She didn’t stir as he stood and grabbed the folded duvet from the bottom of the bed and tucked her into his bed. Her slightly glazed over eyes cracked open to stare at him before a lazy smile spread across her face and she drifted off to sleep.

Apprehension twisted in his gut. The Professor fumbled with his pockets until he managed to locate his sonic. He flicked it on, running it over the sleeping woman’s body as his scowl became more and more apparent. This was not good. Very, _very_ not good. Indignation, raw hot anger, rose up in him, burning him from the inside out at the thought of anyone daring to lay a hand on _his_ Billie. They were going to pay. And he knew just who would do this.


	5. Animal City: Incurable

Tak grinned devilishly as he watched the tall lanky Time Lord jump up, tongue stuck out as far as it could go as he dashed to wash his mouth off while the redheaded female threw her head back and laughed. Clearly he had thought that the drinks sitting at their table had been bought by one of his companions when in fact Tak had sent them over. The banana daiquiri the Time Lord had greedily gulped down had been laced with his chosen sin.

Speaking of sins. The male companion had succumbed to the power of lust, it would seem. Unsurprising. Even before being laced with it, the man had willingly fallen to many a being’s arms, no matter the sex or race. He was currently in a darkened corner of the nightclub, feeling up a blue-skinned humanoid with dark red horns and six arms.

But he wasn’t the first to fall victim. Tak couldn’t help but notice the absence of the older Time Lord and the brunette female. At the mall earlier he had seen the female slowly growing more lethargic, Sloth overpowering her desire to go out with her friends. It was possible the Time Lord had taken her back to their ship to rest, where hopefully he too was overcome by his sin, Wrath, and perhaps killed her in a rage. That would break the Time Lord nicely.

The brunette had been the hardest, no sin seeming to match her perfectly until he found a spark of something in her, a need to relax and laze around more than go out and party like the redhead. The brunette liked to spend “quiet time” with the others. Sloth easily poured into her after that. The redhead had been a little complicated as well, not because nothing matched her, but because she had even amounts of everything, enough so that one sin never overpowered another and she lived a very balanced life. But she too had something in her as well, a lonely little girl who never was loved enough. It made her greedy. Greedy for attention, for love, for everything she’d been denied in the past. Greed was more than willing to take control. The older Time Lord, like the male companion had been easy, his sin always close to the surface, though hidden behind careful masks and beaten back by his own willpower and the love of those he traveled with.

And now the final piece had been set. The younger Time Lord, by guzzling down his favorite drink had unknowingly injected himself with Pride, the obvious choice for him, really. The way he constantly talked about how brilliant he was and how stupid everyone else was, people would think he already had been poisoned by Pride long before this.

Master would be pleased to hear how well his plan was forming. Casting one final glance at his handiwork, Tak turned on his heel and headed back home, already dialing the familiar number on his mobile.

* * *

The Professor didn’t bother looking for his friends and brother. If they had gotten to Billie, chances were they had gotten to his other companions as well. And judging by the enormous amount of rage building in his belly and scorching through his veins, he could only guess he had been affected as well. It was only a matter of time before they got to Theta, if they hadn’t already. No, this was something he had to take care of himself. This was personal.

Spotting the flashing neon lights of one of the city’s oldest nightclubs, a club he knew Josie would naturally gravitate to, he veered off into a side alley and waited, more than a little impatiently, outside of the back entrance. From the shadows his eyes stayed trained on the plain metal door with the words _Employees Only_ painted in chipping red paint. Call it instinct or a gut feeling (or using his Time Lord sense and sneaking a peek into the future), but he was certain this was where that bastard Merch that had poisoned his Billie was.

“Yes, Master,” a high-pitched voice said as the door swung open revealing a humanoid with pale, milky skin, bright pink eyes, and a hairless body. _Tak_ , his mind supplied, recalling the weasely little minion of Merch’s. He had hoped the last time they ran into each other would have been the last time.

As the slimy little git hung up his mobile with an even slimier grin, the Professor stepped out of shadows. Tak froze in shock and fear as the Time Lord took three large steps forward, grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the brick wall beside the door he’d just exited. Wide panicked eyes stared at him as sweat began to form on Tak’s forehead.

“Tak,” the Professor growled, not even trying to rein in his rage anymore. “And here I thought I’d put Merch out of business.”

“Y-y-you did,” Tak stuttered, “I s-s-swear.”

“Then explain to me why you no longer have any hair. Or why your eyes are an exceptionally vibrant pink now. All side effects of bottling emotions, if I remember correctly.”

Tak merely whimpered pathetically.

“Where is the antidote?” he hissed, leaning forward into the man’s personal space.

“T-t-there is n-none! It wasn’t designed to–” Tak was abruptly cut off by the Professor pulling him forward and slamming him back into the wall.

“Where’s Merch? What is he planning? Why do this now, here? What good does it do?” The questions were fired off rapidly in one breath.

Tak nervously licked his lips, “Merch wanted you all injected with the sins you already hold within you, making it become the main personality trait. He hoped that you and the Doctor would become disgusted with your companions and either hurt them physically with your Wrath or emotionally with the Doctor’s Pride or that you’d abandon them. The plan was to break you, to make you feel all the pain that you made us feel when you ruined Merch’s business. The pain of losing everything and everyone you held dear.” As he spoke his voice gained back his usual strength, so sure that they had won.

_…losing everything and everyone…_

The Professor’s eyes widened in understanding. Abandoning or worse, harming the girls and Jack would be losing every _one_ they held dear. But every _thing_?

“The TARDIS,” he whispered in understanding.

Tak’s smirk of pure smugness was answer enough.

Red hot anger began to boil up anew at the thought of his precious TARDIS being harmed. And what was worse, Billie still innocently sleeping away within the confines of the dimensionally transcendental ship. If anything happened to either of them… The Professor shuddered at the thought, finding the hand not gripping the front of Tak’s shirt had somehow found its way around his neck. The usually pale man was turning an alarming shade of blue, but the Professor could feel no shame, no regret, as his palm continued to press down against his windpipe.

“ _Professor…_ ” a weak but unmistakable voice drifted through his mind, snapping him out of his livid haze. Blinking, he noticed Tak’s eyes beginning to roll back in his head as his hands feebly grasped at the hand choking him. With a shock of revulsion at his own actions, the Professor pushed away from the man, allowing him to slump onto the ground, unconscious. Breathing hard, he stared down at the man threatening everything that made this life worth living. The anger still churning inside of him demanded blood, some sort of vengeance for the crime not yet completed. He had to protect his family, his life, his love.

His mind stuttered to a halt, Wrath fading to the background under his confusion. Love? _Love_? It couldn’t be love. Not _that_ kind of love anyway. Shaking his head, he brushed the thoughts aside. Now was not the time for an emotional epiphany, if that’s what that was.

“ _Professor…_ ” her voice came again, sounding more urgent, more distressed. “ _Where are you?… Who’s…_ ”

“ _Shh,_ ” he sent back to her, taking deep even breaths to try to calm himself, if only to keep her calm. “ _I’m coming. Stay where you are. You’ll be fine._ ”

A wave of trust and affection was his answer, taming the roiling fire in his belly more than he ever could. Billie was always like that though. Ever since he first met her, she’d calmed something inside him he hadn’t really realized was there until it suddenly wasn’t. The anger that had always simply been a part of him vanished when Billie was around. He’d be damned if he allowed some self-absorbed, power hungry, drug dealer take that away.

With one last heated look at the limp form sprawled at his feet, the Professor turned out of the alley. He had more important things to take care of.

* * *

She couldn’t feel him anywhere close by. He had left her in the TARDIS without so much as a goodbye. Normally that wouldn’t bother her, but she could feel another mind roaming around, getting lost in the corridors the ship was shifting about in order to keep the stranger from finding the only current occupant. Billie knew she should probably get up and hide, or at least make it harder for the man to find her than just lying in bed. The energy to do so, however, just seemed too much. And that worried her about as much as the intruder. Normally right about now adrenaline would be kicking in and she be up out of bed and hurrying out the door, trying to find some way to get the stranger out of the TARDIS, or at the very least distract them until the Professor or Doctor arrived. But she felt nothing but a sluggish need to go back to sleep. She didn’t even have enough energy to keep even a fraction of the shields in her mind up, the TARDIS now the only thing protecting her from a mental attack. Reaching out past that barrier, Billie searched for the one mind that would always grant her comfort and safety.

“ _Professor…_ ” The link was too weak – or maybe she was. She couldn’t concentrate, her mind going fuzzy around the edges. With a grunt of annoyance she pushed herself up into a sitting position, her duvet falling around her waist at the movement. Her arms shook with the effort of keeping her up but she ignored it. The stranger drew closer to her room, finally sending a spike of panic through her system before the presence wandered away again, guided by the TARDIS, though she could still feel the person’s annoyance and frustration at the time machine. Billie used that, letting it fill her so that she could have the strength to talk to the Professor.

Even so, she still could only push out stuttered, disjointed sentences, “ _Professor…Where are you…Who’s…_ ” Her fear began to creep up on her at her inability to do something that normally came so naturally. What was wrong with her? Why wasn’t the Professor here? She never needed him more than in this moment. She just wanted to understand.

“ _Shh,_ ” finally the Professor’s voice answered her, filling her mind like a balm against all the evils invading her world. She felt herself sag against the headboard. “ _I’m coming. Stay where you are. You’ll be fine._ ”

Clearly he knew something of what was going on. He’d fix this. He always did. Part of her (a part that sounded a hell of a lot like Donna) hated that she was depending on a guy like this, even if it was the Professor. But she really had no idea how to handle this situation. So instead, she curled her legs up into her chest, leaned against the headboard to keep her still groggy body upright, and stared at the door to the hall, following the intruder with her mind as he continued wandering the corridors. He was getting increasingly mad at the seemingly endless maze of halls – which she had to admit was kind of amusing.

Suddenly another mind blazed into her awareness, charging onto the TARDIS with a feral rage rolling off it in waves, making Billie shudder lightly until she realized who exactly it was. She had never seen the Professor this furious. Memories of different times when she’d been captured and/or injured flashed though her mind, immediately changing her mind. She was certain whoever was on the TARDIS was in for a world of hurt.

Just as quickly as his mind came onto her mental radar, it vanished along with the intruder’s. Worried, she questioned the TARDIS about what was happening, only to get a reassuring hum in reply. She sighed, picking at a loose string on her duvet as the alarm clock on her nightstand ticked away the minutes. Her body was beginning to feel stronger, her mind coming back to herself. She still felt drowsy, but less like she was going to drop at any second.

The door creaked open, causing her head to snap up from its inspection of her blanket’s pattern. The Professor edged in, looking a little sheepish as his eyes swept over her anxiously. She sat up straighter, motioning for him to come in, which he did after hesitating a moment longer on the threshold. He sat next to her on the bed, their shoulders brushing as he stretched out his long legs. She kept hers folded against her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she tilted her head back to look at him. His expression was grim, his eyes distant. He refused to make eye contact with her.

“There was someone on the TARDIS,” she prompted.

“Still is,” he grunted and then sighed, leaning his head back to stare at her ceiling. “We’ll need to take him to the Shadow Proclamation where he’ll stand trial for repeated crimes.”

“What exactly did he do? Is he the reason I feel so…off?”

He nodded, “A long time ago the Doctor, Jack, and I ran into him. This was long before we met you or Josie. Merch and his family were bottling emotions and selling them. They were like drugs. People no longer had to feel anything they didn’t want to. But it would wear off eventually and they’d have to buy more. It was easy to get addicted.”

“So he drugged us?”

“Yeah. As far as I can tell, I got Wrath, and you got Sloth. Apparently he’s moved on to sins now too.”

“That explains so much.”

The Professor’s frown deepened as he stiffened beside her, merely grunting in reply.

“What’s wrong?” Billie’s voice came out quieter than normal. He flinched away when she tried to place her hand on his arm, wanting him to look at her.

“The emotions only worked if you already had them inside of you,” he growled quietly.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“The drug only amplified an emotion you already had, stifling all the others.

“So…I already had Sloth in me?” He nodded. “And you…oh.”

He sighed, springing up suddenly to pace the length of the room, “Now you know. What I have inside me. It’s always there, Billie. I hold it back, but…why are you laughing?”

Billie slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles, “I’m sorry, Professor. But I’ve always known. I’ve been in your head remember. Besides, you do remember what you were like when I met you, right?”

His lips twitched but he studiously kept the smile off his face, “I’m serious, Billie.”

“As am I,” she sighed, sitting up straighter and forcing her mind to clear more, brushing aside the effects of the drugs still lingering in her system. “I’ve known you for most of my life, Professor. I’ve seen all the good and bad. You don’t scare me.”

He blinked at her from across the room, seemingly in shock. She held her arms out and waited patiently for him to break down like she knew he would. Because she knew him. All of him.


	6. Love And War: Moulin Rouge

“I’m pretty sure I said, Moulin Rouge,” Josie said, head tilted up to watch a passing zeppelin.

“You did,” Billie piped in helpfully from beside the Professor. The two were a few steps ahead of everyone else, walking down the street of the steampunk-like city where people dressed in a mix of Victorian and Edwardian clothes. The five time travelers, however, were still in their normal outfits. Jeans, t-shirts, miniskirts, leather jackets, pinstripe suits, and military jackets stuck out like sore thumbs here, but no one seemed to notice. Josie vaguely remembered the Doctor explaining something about the TARDIS shifting people’s perception or something like that, so they didn’t notice if the time travelers looked out of place.

“Well, this doesn’t look like Moulin Rouge to me,” Josie commented as an old fashioned car chugged its way down the road, spilling copious amounts of black smoke behind it.

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong,” the Doctor grinned manically at her, bumping his shoulder against hers. “This is Moulin Rouge, the planet. Much better than that silly old building in France.”

“And with less can-can dancers fawning all over you and men trying to get into every woman’s pants,” Jack paused in his admiring of the locals to chuckle behind them. “That’s the real reason you brought us here instead, isn’t it?”

The Doctor pouted, “Is not!”

Jack just continued to chuckle and wink at a young woman who happened to look his way. Josie rolled her eyes at her brother and jogged to catch up with Billie, linking her arm through the other girl’s.

“Go on, then,” Billie called back to the still pouting Time Lord. “Tell us about Moulin Rouge. What’s so great that you brought us here instead?”

Before he could answer a loud horn blared making everyone stop. People in the street began rushing to cross streets as cars pulled to the side of the road. They all looked expectantly down the road, waiting. Josie stretched up onto her toes to see over the line of people in front of them.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“The reason we’re here.” The Doctor smiled, “It’s a festival to celebrate Moulin Rouge’s founding. When humans first settled here, there wasn’t much besides desert. Lots and lots of sand and rocks and very little wildlife. They decided to settle and build a city.”

“Over time it grew into an industrial hub,” The Professor continued. “Factories going up to make products sent all over the universe. The main distribution point for hundreds of companies became Moulin Rouge.”

“Why do they call it that?” Billie questioned, her brow furrowed.

Jack shrugged, “No one knows really. Lots of speculation, but nothing substantial.”

“The founder was a big fan of the movie,” the Professor said matter-of-factly. “It’s why everyone still wears clothes similar to that time period too.”

Jack blinked in surprise as a parade with blaring music and random horn blows appeared around the corner, “I’m not sure I want to know how you know that.”

The Doctor just grinned, bobbing his head to the electronica music. The Professor shrugged moving away to weave through the locals lingering on the street to watch the parade. Billie trotted after him, not really in the mood to be squashed on all sides by strangers just to see more strangers ride by on colorful floats. The other three stood for a few more minutes before Josie got bored and began tugging the boys away to look for something more entertaining.

They caught up with the two others waiting just around the corner on a much quieter street with few pedestrians. Shops lined the road with signs swinging in the light breeze. Josie let out a high-pitched squeal as one shop in particular caught her attention. The others flinched at the noise but made no comment. By now, they were used to her random outbursts. She grabbed Billie’s hand and dragged her forward, entering the shop without preamble.

Racks of old fashioned dresses stood against the walls with a few select gowns on display on mannequins in the middle of the room. A counter lined the back of the store and a doorway stood off to one side, leading to the back, beads covering it instead of a door. A tiny bell above the front entrance announced their presence as Josie meandered through the racks, searching aimlessly.

Billie groaned, “I should’ve known.”

“What?”

“Whenever we go anywhere you always have to find a dress shop.”

Josie grinned as Jack came in behind Billie, “Doc and Teach refuse to come in. They’re across the street looking for parts for the TARDIS.”

Josie rolled her eyes, “Like they actually need anything.”

“Kinda like how _you_ need a new dress,” Billie teased. Josie stuck her tongue out at her sister in reply.

Laughter floated out to them from the curtained doorway a second before a woman about their age stepped out. She wore a dark blue off the shoulder gown with decorative beading on the bodice. Her raven hair was half tied back in a messy bun with the bottom layer gently waving down her back. Electric blue eyes danced with amusement as she smiled.

“You two must be sisters,” she commented, coming around the counter to talk with them.

“How’d you guess?” Billie asked sarcastically, smiling. “This is our brother Jack. I’m Billie and this is Josie.”

“Very nice to meet you.” She bowed her head respectfully. “I’m Phoebe.”

“You own this shop?” Billie asked kindly as Josie continued to shift through the dresses and Jack leaned up beside the window, staring out at the empty street with his arms crossed over his crest.

“I will. It’s my family’s but one day I will inherit it.”

“That’s nice,” Billie was cut off by Josie squealing again.

“Oh. My. God!” she screeched. “This is just like in the movie!” She held out a red silk gown that was, in fact, exactly like the dress Nicole Kidman wore in the movie. “I _have_ to try this on.”

“There are dressing rooms in the back, if you’d follow me,” Phoebe began to walk away.

“Hang on. I need to find one for Billie.”

“I really don’t need one, Josie,” Billie groaned. “Can’t I just…Oh. That one’s nice.”

Jack and Phoebe both chuckled as Billie took the dress from Josie to study it closer. It was the same style as Josie’s but without the large bow in the back. It was a glossy pink with a layer of sheer black lace over it. The back was long enough to create a bit of a train. Josie smiled triumphantly at her sister before motioning for Phoebe to lead them back.


	7. Love And War: 2567

Jack listened to the muffled voices of his sisters and the shop girl that floated through to the front room. He shook his head slightly at the giggles emitting from the girls. It was nice hearing his sisters getting along so well with another woman. They really didn’t have enough female companions while they traveled. The poor girls were probably going nuts from all the testosterone they were constantly surrounded by.

He turned back to the window at the slow roll of a drum. Outside he spotted a small army of men dressed in new pressed uniforms marching in time down the street. For a moment he thought it might be the parade again, but nothing followed the men as they halted outside, standing at attention as a superior officer looked them over. He had known that life for a long time. Longer than he cared to admit. The Time Agency hadn’t started out as an army, but by the end of his career, it sure as hell felt like it.

“Handsome, aren’t they?” Phoebe’s voice roused him. He turned to smile politely down at her as she joined him at the window. “The army has just come to Moulin Rouge. They’re worried about the war spreading here and destroying everything we’ve built. My fiancé just enlisted you know. Wants to make a name for himself before we settle down and start a family.”

He smiled at the story of her fiancé for a second before her other words caught up with him, “War?”

She hummed, not really paying attention as she watched the soldiers.

“I’m sorry,” Jack placed a gentle hand on her arm to get her attention, “What year is this exactly?”

Her brow furrowed, “2567, of course.”

He cursed under his breath, spinning to take in the soldiers, praying that they weren’t doing what he thought they were. Sure enough the men had formed two lines. One faced the shops across the street while the other faced their side. They stood still as statues, guns held tightly in their hands, waiting for orders.

“Come on,” he growled, grabbing Phoebe’s hand as he led her quickly to the back. She only protested for a moment as they came to a stop just outside the dressing rooms where his sisters were twirling in front of a mirror and laughing together.

“Oh, you two look lovely,” Phoebe said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Josie grinned.

“Jack,” Billie’s smile had slipped off her face at her brother’s stressed expression. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to go. Now. No time to change,” he said when they reached for their clothes. “Grab your phones and let’s go.”

It said a lot about their chosen lifestyle when, without hesitation or questions, both girls dug out their superphones from their pile of discarded clothes. Phoebe was sputtering out protests which he ignored as he took her elbow and pulled her away. The sound of heels behind him were the only indication that his sisters followed as he refused to glance behind. They quickly went out the back door and into an alley where he led them on till they reached the end of the block.

And then the shooting began. They all crouched down behind a large dumpster as screams and shots filled the air. Phoebe whimpered lightly but realized she had to hold her tongue to escape the danger. He glanced at the three women huddled together, Billie gently shushing the distraught shop girl as Josie glanced around, looking for an escape.

“Stay here,” Jack told them as he pulled out his gun. “Stay low and in the shadows till I come get you, understand?” They all nodded.

“Jack,” Josie whispered before he could move away. “What about the Doctor and Professor?”

“They’ll be fine. Just wait here, alright?”

He didn’t wait this time for an answer, instead he inched his way out, his back pressed against the wall and gun at the ready. At the mouth of the alley he could spot civilians running up and down the street, trying to escape the army men marching unstoppably down the road, shooting at anyone that crossed their path. He flinched when he saw a large blonde man shoot down a young girl. She couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. Jack narrowed his eyes as the man then continued to move on down the street without pause. Something just wasn’t right here. The man’s motions were almost robotic they were so stiff. Peeking around the corner to keep the man in his line of sight, he watched him walk under a street lamp, the bright yellow light shining oddly against the man’s pale skin and flaxen hair. Shit. He really hoped he was seeing things, even while he formed a plan.

There had to be some way to get out of here without being spotted. Moving back deeper into the shadows, his eyes trailed across the street to where steam was rising from the ground, seemingly from nothing. He nearly face-palmed when he realized what it was. And it was the perfect escape. Well, maybe not perfect. They still had to make it across the street. But it was the best shot they had.

He stayed where he was, waiting until the numbers of people running around died down and the dead bodies piled up alarmingly. He forced himself not to look at them, to not see any of their faces. It was the only way he knew how not to get personally involved. He just hoped the girls would be alright. Phoebe especially wasn’t used to this kind of sight.

When he was sure they wouldn’t be ambushed unexpectedly he turned back to the girls, waving them forward. “We have to move quickly,” he told them once they were directly behind him. “Stay together.”

He turned back to the street and paused to check for soldiers one last time. A small hand grasped the back of his coat, alerting him to the others’ presence. They moved as a unit onto the street, jogging at a fast clip that was probably too much for the girls in long skirts. It couldn’t be helped, however, as he dropped to the ground beside the grate covering the manhole. Billie moved forward first, climbing down without being instructed. Her heels made a hollow clicking sound as she hit the ground below.

“Torch?” she called up hopefully.

Without a word, Jack dropped down a pocket torch before turning to help Phoebe get down. Tear tracks stained her cheeks but she looked oddly composed. There was a determined glint to her eyes that made him simultaneously proud and worried. It was good that she wasn’t being too affected by her surroundings, but he wasn’t sure what exactly had put that look there. Something niggled at the back of his head, but he pushed it aside for later. Instead, he turned to help Josie down after the shop girl. Once they were all safely down, he gave one last look around before following them, pulling the grate back over the hole as he went.

* * *

Phoebe wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm. She stood with two strange women on the path workers used down in the sewer while soldiers were up on the surface killing, quite literally, everyone.

She just didn’t understand what was going on. Who were these people she was with? Why were people being shot? What was wrong with those soldiers? What about Harlan? Oh dear God! What had happened to her fiancé? She had to get out of here and find him.

The man, Jack landed next to her at the bottom of the ladder and turned to take in their surroundings.

“A sewer,” Josie said, lip curling in disgust. “Again. Why me?”

Jack laughed, “Not the worst we’ve ever been in.”

“What are we…” Billie trailed off as her eyes glazed over. Both of her siblings stared at her expectantly, waiting.

Phoebe wanted to ask what was going on, but none of them seemed to notice her whatsoever. She really wasn’t sure if she could trust these people, but they had gotten her to relative safety and seemed pretty sure of what they were doing. They were probably her best chance of survival at this point.

Billie smiled slightly, “They’re alright. The Professor and Doctor said to head north. They’ll meet us at the City Hall.”

“Okay, explanation time,” Josie ordered, hands going to her hips as she faced her brother. “What the hell is going on?”

Jack sighed and waved them down a side tunnel heading north, “Let’s walk while I explain.” Billie waited half a second to make sure Phoebe was following, grabbing her hand reassuringly. The shop girl was glad at least one of them hadn’t forgotten her. “In 2567 a war between humans and Autons was brewing. It was just in the beginning stages still. A couple battles here or there, but nothing huge. But the main goal for the Autons was to take over Moulin Rouge. They’re a race of living plastic. They feed off of smoke and oil, all the toxins and dioxins in the air. Moulin Rouge, as a purely industrial planet, has more of that than any other planet in the universe.”

“So the Autons want it for their own,” Josie supplied with an exasperated sigh, as if they dealt with this sort of thing all time.

“Why didn’t they just make a deal with the humans?” Billie asked. “It’s not like humans _want_ all those toxins in the air.”

Jack flashed a smile over his shoulder at his sister, “Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that logically, Jeanie.”

“But those soldiers,” Phoebe finally found her voice which sounded harsh and raspy. “They were from our army. Not the Autons.”

Jack sighed, “I guess no one here knows yet about how Autons can duplicate humans. They probably captured a small fraction of the army and made duplicates to fool the locals. The real soldiers would be kept alive, though, to keep the duplicates going.”

“Do you think the Doctor and Professor know all this too?” Josie asked.

“Probably,” Billie answered. “Or at least they know enough. We’ll find out soon. The Professor said City Hall isn’t too far.”

“It’s about a half mile away,” Phoebe said helpfully in a small voice. Her mind was drifting toward Harlan. Was he safe? She hadn’t seen him amongst the soldiers on the street, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been captured. She shook her head slightly. She couldn’t think like that. Not right now. Right now, she had to figure out a way to escape this craziness. Then she’d find Harlan and they’d move far, far away. Moulin Rouge would be a thing of the past. Where it belonged.


	8. Love And War: City Hall

The Doctor and the Professor took to the rooftops, hopping over gaps between buildings as they steadily made their way to City Hall. The moment he had peeked out the window to the shop across the street and spotted the military men lining up on the sidewalks, the Doctor had known what was going on. He could easily recognize an Auton when he saw one, even if it was disguised as a human. It had taken them all of a second to figure everything out between them and he was quickly cursing himself. He had wanted to take Josie to a fun festival for her birthday, not an outbreak of war.

“The girls are safe,” the Professor told him as the paused to check how things were going below them. “Jack got them down to the sewers as well as the shop girl. Apparently, the girls have befriended her.”

The Doctor winced, “I bet Josie isn’t happy.”

His brother gave him a pointed look, “She’ll get over it. They’ll meet us in City Hall.”

He nodded and looked over the city to where the large white building with a domed top stood just a few miles away. A long antenna-like structure came out the middle with a blinking blue tip. They had used their sonics to figure out where the signal for the Autons base was coming from and it had immediately pointed to the Hall. They had to figure out how to cut off the signal so all the Autons stop working. Then, if possible, they needed to find those who had been captured and confront the Nestene Consciousness. Though, without any antiplastic, the Doctor wasn’t sure what they’d do if the Consciousness didn’t agree to their terms.

Shaking out of his reverie, the Doctor straightened and took a few steps back before charging forward, taking a giant leap onto the next building. The thud of Doc Martins and the even breaths of his brother behind him were the only assurances that he wasn’t alone.

A chill had settled over Moulin Rouge as the sun had set, making their breath fog in front of their faces and their skin prickle where it was exposed. Screams still occasionally rent through the air followed by the loud bang of a gun. The Doctor stopped again a block from City Hall to steady his rattled nerves. No matter how many warzones he entered, he would never get used to the screaming, the bloodshed and terror. It was made even worse by knowing Billie and Josie were somewhere in the middle of it, even if they were traveling rather safely at the moment.

“End of the line, I think,” he said, turning towards his brother. “The gaps get too big between buildings from here.

The Professor nodded, glancing around the street below for any sign of life. It seemed rather empty and quiet, but they really couldn’t be sure until they got down there.

“Fire escape,” the older Time Lord said simply, moving to the other side of the roof where the top of a fire escape could be seen.

The Doctor sighed as he followed his brother over the ledge and down the side of the building. Why did he have the feeling this wasn’t going to end well?

* * *

The sun had finally set completely, leaving the city in only minimal ambient light. The Professor kept his eyes and ears open for any sign of the Autons while his mind wandered. He couldn’t think of why this was happening. Yes, the Autons and humans were in a war right now, but he couldn’t remember a battle taking place on Moulin Rouge, just surrounding it.

Then he felt it. Time contorted and shifted around him, around the planet. He cursed under his breath. They had stumbled into a weak point in time. Already events were changing, morphing into a completely different timeline. No wonder the TARDIS had landed here instead of when they originally had planned. Although, with the Doctor driving it could have just been an accident. Either way they were stuck here until things stabilized.

Normally he wouldn’t mind, but without his companions nearby, he couldn’t relax completely. This body was more on edge, more the warrior than his past bodies, and he couldn’t seem to stop going over all the past battles he’d been a part of and how things could go wrong. He’d feel much more relaxed and would be able to concentrate better once Billie and the others were back at his side.

“ _Billie,_ ” he called out, his mind reaching for hers to assure himself that she was okay.

“ _We’re okay,_ ” she answered immediately, knowing exactly what he needed. She sent him a projection of where they were, Jack with his gun drawn for protection, Josie complaining about the sewers, the shop girl following meekly for lack of anything better to do. When the image of Billie in her gown flowed through his mind, he almost stopped short, his breath hitching. One of the reasons he hated that Josie always forced Billie to dress up, was how capable the brunette was of making his mind go blank.

It was only since the Caxer incident that he had begun to admit his own feelings and he was still insecure about it all. Time Lords weren’t supposed to have emotions like this. They were above it. But he had never been a proper Time Lord before. Just because they were gone now didn’t change who he was. And he was a Time Lord that was currently putty in the hands of Miss Billie Jean Smith.

“ _Beautiful,_ ” his mental voice sounded a bit breathless and he could feel Billie’s embarrassment float down their connection.

“Sig!” the Doctor hissed, breaking him away from his mental conversation in time for them to duck into an alcove while the marching Autons passed. He quickly told Billie he’d see her soon and cut the connection. As much as he would love to keep it open, to form a more permanent link, right now it was nothing more than distracting. He had to focus on the task at hand, not his maybe-romance.

The two Time Lords slowly but steadily made their way to City Hall, often ducking into shadows to hide from a passing soldier or two. The Professor still couldn’t reign in his thoughts completely, but he felt much more focused as he followed his younger brother up the steps of the large white building. It would have perhaps been better to sneak in through the back, but they didn’t have time to traipse all over the place in search of the transmitter’s off switch. They had to finish this quickly in order to stop all the death and destruction and the front lobby was sure to have some sort of map that could reveal some sort of hint. Hopefully.

The front entrance was wide open, the lobby empty of any living creature. Even the Autons seemed to be missing in this place. Their footsteps echoed throughout the marble hall as they slowly made their way to the front desk. A large “you are here” sign stood to one side, showing the layout of the entire building. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they studied it.

“Here,” the Doctor pointed to the top of the map. “Right in the dome itself. It’s the only place big enough.”

The Professor nodded, “I’ll go cut the signal. You look around for any prisoners or survivors.”

The Doctor nodded in agreement and wandered off on his own, hands deep in his pockets – probably clutching his sonic. The Professor sighed, eyes roving over the map one last time as he reached out to check on Billie again. She was close. A few more minutes and the others should be joining him and his brother. He felt a weight lift from his shoulders at the thought. He would feel much better when Billie was safe with him. Until then, he had a job to do.


	9. Love And War: Consciousness

“Oh, that reeks,” Billie grumbled, raising a hand to cover her nose as a feeling of déjà vu washed over her.

Jack smirked at her over his shoulder, inching forward to the large metal vault-like door at the end of the tunnel. A red glow was emitting from the crack under the door as well as the nasty burnt-plastic-and-decaying-body smell that they were being forced to breathe. And wasn’t it just horrible that Billie could actually identify the scent of decaying bodies. She really needed a vacation.

Almost silently, Jack moved to the door, pressing his ear against it to see if anyone was on the other side. He waved Billie closer, the only one out of the girls willing to move nearer, and together they managed to turn the large wheel on the front and pull the heavy door open. The smell got worse as the door swung open, making them gag and turn away, trying desperately not to throw up.

“What _is_ that?” Phoebe choked out.

“Well,” Jack shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, but my guess is the Nestene Consciousness.”

“You mean the thing controlling all the plastic people?” Josie asked incredulously.

“Yeah…” he trailed off as he motioned them to follow after him.

“Ugh,” Josie gagged again. “I hate this part.”

Phoebe’s eyes doubled in size, “You’ve done this before.”

“Not this specifically,” Billie assured, following her brother without a backwards glance. She heard the quiet rustle of fabric from the other women close behind her.

The floor turned from cement to grating as they stepped onto a long metal bridge that ran over a glowing orange-ish red pit. Billie’s hands gripped onto the railing as she walked. The horrible scent was strongest here. Which could only mean… She shifted, griping one railing with both hands as she leaned over to look down. She quickly jerked back up at the sight of a great big blob with a face. It had _a face_.

She was about to hurry away after Jack, who hadn’t seemed to notice the big blob face below them when she felt it. A gentle pressure against her mind, not intruding but asking for entrance. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tried to pinpoint where exactly the request was originating only for them to snap open a half second later. She leaned back over the edge to look at the face. It’s eyes were now focused on her. While it was still a bit disturbing, now that she was more focused and knew what to look for, she saw the eyes looked sad, tired, desperate. Taking a deep breath, she made a decision and opened her mind.

“ _What are you doing here? Why are you killing people?_ ” she asked before it say anything.

“ _We had no choice_ ,” a strangely gravelly voice echoed in her mind, though not completely unpleasant. “ _Our planet was destroyed._ ”

She sent sympathy down the connection, not sure how to phrase her sorrow at hearing a planet was demolished. “ _If I may ask, what happened?_ ”

“ _A great war, fought on many planes of existence by many people._ ”

“ _The Time War?_ ”

“ _You have heard of it._ ”

She hesitated but decided if this thing’s entire planet was gone because of the war, it wouldn’t hold Time Lords in high regard. Best not mention the Professor or Doctor then. “ _I have_.”

“Oh my God!” a shriek had Billie pulling away from the conversation, turning to see Phoebe panicking at the sight of the Nestene Consciousness. Josie, seeing her sister oddly focused on it and guessing (correctly) what was happening, had quickly wrapped her arms around the other woman and pulled her away. A large hand was suddenly engulfing her shoulder. She turned her head to look up at Jack.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” she promised. “I have things covered here. Why don’t you guys look for a way out of here?”

He cast one last unsure look at the Consciousness before nodding once and ushering the women out the door they came through.

“ _My family,_ ” she told the thing. “ _Or at least mostly._ ”

He chuckled lightly, “ _I see._ ”

“ _Anyway,_ ” she changed the subject. “ _I understand that your planet was destroyed, but why attack this one?_ ”

“ _We need a planet that can sustain us. This planet is perfect_.”

“ _But why kill everyone?_ ”

“ _Would they have allowed us to live here if we didn’t?_ ”

Her eyebrow rose, “ _You’ll never know now, will you?_ ” There was a long silence as they stood glaring at one another. Finally she sighed, “ _Why didn’t you just…trade something?_ ”

“ _What do you mean?_ ”

“ _Humans like to get something for giving something. If you offered…I don’t know…the gases! The gases you consume are harmful to humans!_ ”

“ _I do not know where you are going with this._ ”

She laughed, shaking her head at the absurdity of the whole situation, “ _Humans can’t breathe the gases you consume. At least not for long. It can cause serious damage to their bodies. If you made some sort of deal with the humans…you could consume all the toxins in the air that they shouldn’t be breathing and they get to continue building and using factories that create more toxins. It’s a win-win. But you have to stop killing them. It would already be hard enough to convince them that you mean them no harm after everything that’s happened. Please. I beg of you, call off your forces. I’ll talk to…whoever’s in charge and get them to hear you out, to consider this as an option._ ”

She waited, watching the Consciousness mull over her plan. The big globby eyes blinked slowly up at her. She felt more than heard him sigh as the building above her rattled slightly. She tilted her head up to narrow her eyes at the ceiling. It wasn’t going to collapse on her, was it? That’d just be her luck.

“ _I accept your conditions,_ ” the Consciousness’ voice brought attention back to the being below her. “ _I will give you two hours to fulfill your promises. If you do not send word of your success or failure by then, I will allow my children free reign of Moulin Rouge_.”

She wasn’t even going to question him, “ _That’s most generous. Thank you._ ” Without another word, Billie hiked up her skirt and ran across the bridge as fast as she could without falling in her heels, yelling for her brother.

* * *

The Professor had been nothing less than stunned as Billie mentally flagged him down, replaying her conversation with the Nestene Consciousness. Once the shock wore off, however, pride had puffed out his chest. Only his Billie would be able to stop an invasion, not with weapons and force, but with words and compromise. It was only a matter of getting the President of Moulin Rouge to agree.

He and the Doctor had found the middle-aged balding man cowering in a panic room in the heart of City Hall along with a young soldier who had been assigned to protect him. The young man, Harlan Clark, was grateful to be of assistance, though his main concern was clearly his fiancé who he believed was still out in the city, manning her parent’s dress shop. Phoebe. The shop girl Billie and Josie had befriended. Well that was ironic. And helpful. When he heard his beloved was safe and with the friends the Time Lords were meeting he was even more accommodating, practically shoving the President out the door and down the hall the grinning Doctor had indicated.

It was an extremely emotional meeting with the other group. And not just for the long separated lovers either. The Professor lost all sight of everyone else around him as his eyes zeroed in on Billie. She still looked gorgeous, if a little windswept, in her pink silk gown. A bright smile illuminated her face as she spotted him, the tense line of her shoulders relaxing. In just a few quick strides he made it to her side, taking her small hands in his as he studied her face for any signs of injury. She sent out a wave of assurance through their connection. She was fine, safe and sound with him once again. She never doubted that he’d find her as he always did. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, strengthening their link. She sighed as well and sunk into the contact, both mentally and physically.

“ _Professor,_ ” her mental voice was little more than a whisper brushing against his mind.

His hands rose of their own accord, though he knew exactly what he was about to do. He had always felt connected to Billie, always protective of her, and the telepathic connection was a blessing, especially now that he had near silence in his mind. Since the Caxer he had known exactly how he felt for her, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Now probably wasn’t the best time to do something about it – he should probably discuss it with Billie first – but the lingering fear of something happening to her before he could, simply wouldn’t fade. He was acting on instinct and he wasn’t sure if he could stop. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

“ _Sig!_ ” the Doctor’s voice once again broke through his concentration just before his hands were going to make contact with Billie’s temples, sealing their minds in what was a Time Lord equivalent to marriage, however more permanent.

The Professor reeled back, completely disgusted with himself. He had been about to tie Billie to him in an irreversible way without ever asking her if it was okay. If that was what she wanted. He didn’t even know how she felt about him. He stared at her wide-eyed, ignoring the small amount of confusion and hurt she was sending him, begging for an explanation. With effort, he drew himself away from her, blocking out their link as much as he was willing to. He couldn’t – wouldn’t risk that happening again.


	10. Interlude: Harkness

Jack stood beside his bed, shoving some clothes into a rucksack. He was going to miss this. His family, the traveling. But he had responsibilities he could no longer ignore. He had to return to his team. And maybe now he could look at Gwen and not want to curl up and die. He may not have her, but he did have his sisters and those two insane Time Lords. That was enough.

“I can hear you breathing you know?” he chuckled, not turning to watch Josie sniff and come fully into the room. His bag bounced as she flopped onto the bed.

“Stupid cold,” she sniffed again before coughing lightly. “I can hardly breathe out of my nose at all.”

He smiled at her in sympathy. They had gone to Kur-Ha for ice skating on the mineral lakes as one last fun trip with Jack and, unfortunately for Josie, she had caught a cold. It was more annoying than anything so he didn’t feel _too_ bad leaving while she was sick.

“Where have you been hiding?” he asked as she helped fold one of his button-up shirts. “I haven’t seen you or Billie all day.”

She shrugged, still looking down at the shirt in her hands, fiddling with the collar.

“Not gonna tell me?”

She smiled and shook her head.

“We’ll see about that,” he growled, jumping onto the bed next to her and grabbing her so she couldn’t escape. A peal of laughter erupted from her as he ran his fingers over her ribs, tickling her.

“Stop!” she screeched, batting at his hands while trying to squirm away. “Help! Billie! Doctor! Anybody!”

Suddenly something landed on his back, sending him crashing down beside Josie long enough for the ginger to roll away. The weight lifted from his back and he heard a pair of giggles. He turned his head to look at his sister.

“That wasn’t fair.”

“Funny as hell, though.” Billie smiled.

He rolled his eyes, “Are you going to tell me where you two were now?”

Josie looked at her older sister who smiled.

“Yup!” the ginger nodded once.

The girls climbed onto the bed with him so that the three of them were sitting against the headboard, Jack in the middle. Billie pulled out a stack of papers from seemingly nowhere and handed them to her brother. Jack quickly skimmed through them. Shocked, he reread them, more carefully.

“Is…is this real?”

“Very,” Billie promised.

A smile spread across his face, “You’re sure? Both of you?”

“Yup,” Josie said again. “You are now looking at Josephine Harkness-Stewart and Billie Jean Harkness-Smith.”

Jack closed his eyes, tears welling up. He had never heard anything more beautiful. It had been years since he’d been around another Harkness, and even longer since he’d actually wanted to. He never got along very well with his father and his younger brother had followed in the old man’s footsteps. His mother had died so long ago he hardly even remembered her. But now? Now he had everything he could ever ask for.


	11. Croatoan: Pink and Purple

The Doctor hummed tunelessly as he worked, cobbling together different pieces of metal and wire. He had sequestered himself off in his workroom early on this morning when it became clear the girls weren’t in the mood for a trip. The Professor had shrugged and lowered himself down below the console to work on repairs as Billie locked herself away into the library as usual and Josie had gone back to bed. They had taken Jack leaving worse than the Doctor had originally thought. After all, they had known the man was eventually going to go back to Earth. He had too many responsibilities he couldn’t abandon there.

“What’re you working on?” a small voice asked from the doorway.

Looking up, the Doctor beamed. Josie had her sketch pad tucked under her arm and her case of pencils and pens in her hand. It had been too long since she had joined him for a quiet day in the work room.

“Oh you know,” he shrugged one shoulder. “Little of this, little of that.”

“Uh-huh,” she rolled her eyes with a smile and walked further into the room. “You mind if I join you? I was getting kinda lonely.”

“Of course,” he nodded toward the overstuffed chair in the corner that had long since been considered hers.

“So what _are_ you doing?” she reiterated as she set up her pencils on the small side table.

He grinned, “It’s a secret.”

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any more questions. They sat in silence as both worked on their individual projects. It was nice to have this familiarity back, he decided. He had missed it.

He smiled as he finished off his project, calling out to the Professor with his mind. A few minutes later, his brother came in, looking smug, with Billie a half-step behind.

“What’s up?” the brunette asked, sitting down on the arm of her sister’s chair.

“We have something for the two of you,” the Doctor grinned, holding their surprises behind his back.

“Really?” Josie perked up, standing up so fast she almost knocked her sister over. Billie glared at the ginger as Josie swayed back and forth to try and catch a glimpse of what was behind the Time Lord’s back. “What is it?”

“Something you two have been asking for for a long time,” the Professor smiled at the knowing glint in Billie’s eye.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Of course she would figure it out with just that. No point dragging it out now. He brought his hands back around and held out the two brand new sonic screwdrivers to the two girls. There was a beat of silence before Josie squealed, high-pitched and loud, and launched herself at the unsuspecting Time Lord. The Doctor stumbled back, catching himself on the workbench while the Professor took Billie’s sonic from him, handing it to the smiling brunette. They stood close together, murmuring, off in their own little world.

“So you like it?” the Doctor asked, gently prying Josie’s arms off his neck before she strangled him.

“I love it,” she said, cradling it in her hands.

“Go on! Try it out!”

With a beaming smile, Josie flipped the screwdriver into one hand and pressed the button on the side. The tip flared pink and she let out a gasp before another high-pitched squeal escaped and she hugged the Doctor again.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” She spun around leaving him a little off balance as she skipped over to her sister. Smiling, he shook his head at her antics and followed. Billie was showing her how her own sonic had a purple tip when Josie spun back around to look at him.

“We need to go somewhere,” she grinned brightly. “Anywhere to test these out.”

His smile nearly split his face, “One adventure coming up!”

The sound of his brother’s boots on the grating followed him out of the room as they left the girls to themselves for a bit. The console room glowed dimly from the central column as the TARDIS hummed with excitement. It seemed she was just as happy as the girls that they had gotten their own sonic screwdrivers.

“What do you think?” the Doctor muttered, mostly to himself as he danced around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers as he went. “Put it on random, or pick somewhere special?”

“Nice timing,” the Professor said, breaking through the other Time Lord’s thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“They were missing Jack, so you gave them something else to focus on. They’re calling him now to tell him what you got them.”

The Doctor continued to fiddle with the controls, unsure where his brother was going with this. For a while now, he felt a sort of disconnect with the older Time Lord. Not enough to be noticeable most days, but something had happened during the Time War. The Professor had changed. He was still the man he once was, loving learning and teaching and the wonder of the universe, but there was something else, something broken inside him. It had gotten better since Billie had rejoined them, but it was still there in the shadows of his eyes.

It hadn’t taken long for the Doctor to figure out what it was either. The Professor refused to talk about it, but he knew what his brother had done. He may have been in a regenerative coma when it happened, but there was no denying that the only way for the war to have ended the way it did was if the Professor had been the one to pull the switch, so to speak. He had ended it and he’d never forgiven himself, not entirely. Probably never would. And because of that, because of the one moment that the Doctor hadn’t been able to share with him, a small chasm had formed in their relationship. The Doctor was never entirely certain what his brother was thinking or feeling anymore.

“Somewhere special,” the Time Lord changed the subject, moving back to the hall leading to the residential area of the ship.

The Doctor watched his brother leave for a moment before a small smile form on his face. He shook away all the unwanted thoughts that had haunted him since the war and focused on finding the perfect place for the girls to test out their sonics for the first time.


	12. Croatoan: Road Test

He decided on England 1599, or somewhere around that time. Billie would love to see Shakespeare plays how they were originally made, the Professor would enjoy telling her all the history of every building and person they passed, and Josie could poke around the different shops and things. The Doctor didn’t mind going with her, as long as they could find some sort of trouble that would involve running. He loved the running. And knowing them, it was bound to happen.

When he opened the doors to a dense forest instead of medieval London, he decided not to tell anyone what his intentions had been. Though judging by the smirk the Professor sent his way, he hadn’t fooled anyone. Still, no one said anything as they meandered through the trees in search of civilization.

They had walked for a good thirty minutes without finding anything remotely like the civilized world when Josie began to huff in annoyance. Ten minutes after that she began to mutter about sore feet. Five after that and she was whining quite loudly that the Doctor clearly was the worst driver out of the lot of them.

“Oi!” the Doctor cut her off, finally having enough. “If I’m such a horrible driver, how about next time you take the wheel? See how much better _you_ do!”

The Professor groaned quietly behind them while Billie let out a small chuckle. Josie perked up beside him, a mischievous smile spreading across her face, “Really?”

The Doctor’s feet planted in the dirt path they had been following, freezing in horror as he realized what he had just said. He cursed silently in every language he knew. He wouldn’t put it past the ginger to have set that whole situation up to get something she wanted. Now that he thought about it, she and Billie had both been suspiciously quiet through the first half of their trek. Judging Josie’s smug grin as her sister handed her a few twentieth century Earth bills with a frown, they had been betting on his reaction.

“You two,” he announced, dramatically pointing his finger at the two human-pluses. “Are _evil_. You horrid beasts!”

The girls laughed at him as he continued stomping down the road, his brother showing no sympathy as he followed with a smirk firmly in place. The girls quickly caught up again, still giggling madly.

Josie linked her arm loosely with his, propping her chin on the edge of his shoulder without faltering in her forward steps, “So I still get to drive, right?”

The Doctor groaned as the girls giggled again.

It took another thirty minutes before they managed to stumble upon a ramshackle little town. The small buildings were all made of wood and clearly erected in a hurry, probably to escape the oncoming winter. But aside from that, there was no sign of life. No livestock, no fields in the middle of being prepared for spring, and definitely no people. The air hanging around the wooden structures was oddly still, tension seeming thick enough to cut.

The Doctor rolled his shoulders when it was clear no one was willing to move from the very edge of town, “Come on, then! Let’s see where everyone is.”

Josie hurried to follow him, grasping his hand like a life line. He probably would never get complete feeling back into his digits, but he honestly couldn’t say he minded all that much. At least he knew where the redhead was and that she hadn’t wandered off and got lost or hurt or captured.

Vaguely, he realized the Professor and Billie were moving much more slowly, the human-plus shaking her head, eyes wide with fear. All telepaths could feel the pulsing awareness of this village, but the Time Lords had long learned to block it from their minds so they could concentrate on more important things. Even with all her training, Billie still couldn’t block the more powerful essences that lingered in places. Whatever she was picking up here obviously had her nervous enough not to want to move forward.

The Doctor paused, looking over his shoulder to make eye contact with his brother. The Professor nodded curtly and motioned that he and the brunette would check the surrounding area instead. Billie nodded in agreement though she still looked wary at leaving the other two behind. However, as she clung tightly to the Professor’s sleeve, she had no choice but to turn away when he began to walk back towards the surrounding forest, shooting nervous glances over her shoulder until they disappeared from sight.

The remaining Time Lord took a deep breath and squeezed Josie’s hand to get her to look at him. When her eyes rose to his he gave her a quick reassuring grin before tugging her to the closest building. The design was very rudimentary, not even glass in the windows or multiple rooms inside, though some of the houses had loft areas that were sure to be where the residents slept. What was the most disturbing aspect was that it all appeared to have lived in recently. As though the whole town had simply gotten up and walked away in the middle of dinner. Plates and silverware were laid out on tables, food half-eaten. A few children’s toys were scattered forgotten across a home’s floor. Whoever these people were, they had obviously left in quite the hurry.

But why? What would possibly possess an entire village to abandon their homes?

Josie’s shaky, confused voice brought him out of his musings, “Doctor?”

“Hmm,” he said distractedly, gaze still plastered to the window looking into yet another abandoned building.

“What does…cro…croa…what does that mean?”

The Doctor turned to see Josie pointing to a wooden post where the word “Croatoan” was clearly carved. His eyes widened as he took in the scene around him once more, every detail suddenly making so much more sense. The abandoned settlement, a ghost town. Croatoan.

“Doctor?” Josie laid a gentle hand on his arm, calling back his attention. “What’s wrong? You went all pale.”

He swallowed nervously, “It seems I may have made a small miscalculation in my landing.”


	13. Croatoan: What Goes Around

“I can’t believe you!” Josie yelled at his back as they hurried back out of the town towards where Billie and the Professor had disappeared.

She could actually _hear_ him pout at her, “At least I got the century right.”

“Oh, yeah, congratulations for coming within a hundred years of where you were trying to go.” She rolled her eyes, “After this, you _better_ let me drive, _at least_ once.”

He waved away her comment without turning around and she narrowed her eyes, deciding whether it would be worth his pouting if she smacked him one. She was just deciding against it – he really was the most epic pouter she’d ever seen, though the Professor still held all the awards in brooding – when he suddenly stopped, causing her to slam into his back. She grumbled quietly at him and peered around his shoulder to see why he had froze only to blink in confusion. She knew for a fact that they had been moving away from the center of town, and yet she found herself facing _the center of town_.

“How is that possible?” she whispered, distressed.

“I…I don’t…”

“Doctor?” her voice wavered as she clutched his hand, fear piercing through her veins at an alarming rate.

“I don’t know…” he whispered, staring wide eyed at the house they had just walked out of a few minutes ago.

* * *

The Professor sighed fondly as he felt Billie jump beside him when a small creature scurried through the underbrush nearby. The strange psychic residue lingering on the town had really shaken her up. So much so, that even completely out of sight from the town, she still refused to loosen her death grip on his leather jacket and startled at the slightest noise. It was simultaneously worrisome and adorable. He’d never seen her so jumpy before and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t think it was a little cute, but the fact that she was reacting this strongly…

“Billie,” he said soothingly, pressing a hand onto hers where she clutched at him. Her big brown eyes snapped to him immediately, questioning his soft tone. “It’s alright. Nothing’s goin’ to happen.”

She sighed and visibly pried herself off him, wrapping her arms around herself in a hug instead as she took a small step away. Well, he couldn’t have that. Things may have felt a little tense between them since the incident with the Autons and his untimely lapse of judgment, but he still cared deeply for her. Far more deeply than she probably realized. He draped his arm over her shoulders casually, dragging her closer to his side. She gave a weak smile in reply and wound her arms around his waist.

“Sorry,” her voice was muffled by the fabric of his jumper where she’d buried her face, making him practically melt into a puddle of emotional goo at her feet – and wasn’t that more than a bit embarrassing. “I can’t help it. This place is just…wrong. Like all the people got…sucked out, I guess. Like they’re not here anymore, but they are. I don’t know…”

He shushed her, chafing a hand up and down her arm in comfort, even as a chill ran up his spin. He was so used to people leaving a psychic imprint on things, usually hardly even enough for his telepathy to pick up, that he had never considered that it could be a clue as to where a missing person (or people) had vanished to. As he thought about vanishing people and the new possibilities Billie had just opened up (how many people had he failed because he never paid attention?), time seemed to catch up with him, alerting him to the date and location the Doctor had landed them in.

Apparently Josie was right. Worst. Driver. Ever. The Professor was never letting the younger Time Lord anywhere near the TARDIS controls ever again. His eyes shifted, glancing around at the suddenly quiet forest. When had that happened? Billie felt him tense in her arms and stiffened in response.

“Professor?” she whispered.

“It’s alright,” he answered just as quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them as he felt eyes land on them. He swiftly urged her forward, keeping a tight grip on her shoulders as he trudged through the fallen leaves, looping back the way they came. His free hand gripped his sonic tightly in his pocket, not wanting to draw attention to it. Of course, Billie immediately realized something was wrong and released him with one arm so that she had her right arm looped around his lower back while her left hand slipped her own, brand-new sonic out from beneath the long sleeve of her hoodie.

The forest was eerily quiet, the only sound their own breathing and the shuffle of their feet. The Professor’s ears strained to pick up even the tiniest movement, but there was nothing. He could still feel eyes tracking his every step like a predator, making his hackles rise. His fingers tightened further on Billie’s shoulder and he felt a corresponding pinch in his side as she caught his skin while fisting his wool jumper. Her previous jumpiness didn’t seem so cute anymore.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later, when he was sure they should have broken free of the trees and stepped into the town, that he appreciated just how bad their situation was. When they had first left Josie and the Doctor and entered the woods he had spotted a red ribbon a child must have tied around a tree branch next to a makeshift swing made out of a bit of rope and a plank of wood that looked in danger of collapsing. He had disregarded it as quickly as he’s spotted it, not thinking it mattered all that much, but now that he was stumbling upon the same _exact_ sight, yet with the town nowhere within his line of vision, dread began to fill every fiber of his being.

They really should have made it back by now.

* * *

The Doctor’s eyes traced every inch of the interior of the house. The furniture had already been gone over multiple times by both Josie and himself, with no clue about what had happened here, or how they got trapped. Time had stopped, or looped, or anything else he could think of. Everything was as it should be, minus the villagers and the ability to leave town. So what happened?

Josie sighed and leaned against the wall beside the window, “There’s nothing here Doctor.”

“The lingering psychic energies are strongest here,” he sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair and tugging. “If there’s any sign of what happened here, _this_ is where we’d find it.”

“Well there’s _nothing_ ,” she pushed away from the wall, voice rising in her panic. “What are we supposed to _do_? We can’t leave! We can’t even go find the Professor and Billie! What if something happened to them? What if they can’t get back either?”

Without a word, the Doctor reached forward and yanked the crying human into his arms, allowing her to bury her face into his shoulder and sob out her worries. He couldn’t deny his own fear rising up, but he couldn’t let Josie see that. She trusted him to get them out of this situation, and he would. He just didn’t exactly know how he was supposed to do that. Yet.

When Josie had calmed down again, she silently pushed him away, swiping at her cheeks as she took in shaky breaths. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, waiting until she nodded before he stepped away fully and turned back to his search. He didn’t want to admit that she was probably right. There was nothing here. But he couldn’t give up. Something had to eventually pop up, right? He just had to keep looking.

It wasn’t until several minutes later that he froze. Josie was being far too quiet. Even her sniffles had stopped. He slowly stood, not wanting to turn and be proven right. All he wanted was for the ginger to still be there when he glanced back. But he knew, just like every other time something like this happened, he was alone in the house.

“Josie,” he said calmly, still resolutely not looking behind him. “Josie.”

When she continued to not answer, his eyes slid shut in horror. Of all the times for her to get kidnapped, now had to be the worst. He forced himself to turn around until he faced the empty air. The only sign that Josie had once been with him was the faint pink aura of her mind lingering in the air alongside all the others belonging to the missing villagers. His fists clenched as his determination grew. This just got personal.

* * *

Josie blinked into awareness, her head too heavy to lift as her temple throbbed painfully. She groaned quietly when she tried to recall what had happened only for her head to throb more harshly in retaliation.

“Josie,” a soft, shaky, familiar voice whispered.

She tilted her head, wincing at the spike of pain that caused, to see Billie strapped to a metal table near her that was tilted up enough for her to see around the room. Twisting her wrists and ankles as she struggled weakly, Josie quickly discovered she was strapped down similarly.

“Wh–” she stopped as her dry throat scratched around her words, making her cough violently.

Billie whimpered lightly in what Josie prayed wasn’t pain. The ginger breathed heavily as her coughs finally tapered off and pushed her head back up to look at her sister but Billie wasn’t looking at her anymore. The big, brown, watery eyes were trained on something in front of them. Her blood froze in her veins as fear coursed through her. Not once, even after everything they had seen and been through together, had Josie seen her older sister look that terrified.

Forcing her eyes to follow Billie’s sight, Josie gasped only to fall into another fit of coughs, now mixed with sobs. For the rest of her life, she would never be able to scrub the sight of the Professor strung up by his ankles, jagged cuts running along his entire, bare torso as blood slowly trickled down his skin.


	14. Croatoan: Comes Around

Pale skin with blood running down the contours of lean muscles. That was all she could see. Oh if only her hands were free! Then she could gouge her eyes out and not have to see anything. As it was, the aliens that had ambushed them in the woods and promptly separated them had strapped her to a table, knocked her out with some sort of drug, and, in the few intervals they allowed her to briefly wake up, tortured the Professor in front of her. The leather straps pressed against her forehead, chin, and neck kept her from being able to look away. Her eyes were wide in horror and terror, tears streaming down her face unrepentantly. Out of all the things she’d seen while traveling in that mad blue box, _this_ was undoubtedly the worst.

She whimpered again as Josie struggled to free herself, only to freeze when the redhead finally caught sight of the mangled Professor. Josie let out a wordless cry that tore even more at Billie’s heart. It was bad enough to see the man she loved (yes, she’d admitted it to herself a long time ago, even if she couldn’t quite say it aloud) tortured to near death, but to have her sister put through the same thing. Billie wouldn’t survive this. There was no way.

“Billie,” Josie’s strangled voice called, urging her to turn away from the sight in front of them.

But Billie couldn’t look away, couldn’t even blink. What would happen if she did. Would they take him from her? _Kill him_? Another whimper escaped her throat and she tugged uselessly at her bindings, wanting nothing more than to go over and hold the Professor. If she could just reach him, hold his hand, everything would be alright. But his eyes were closed and he was so, _so_ pale. The cuts and bruises adorning his bare torso had been left to fester as he dangled from the manacles digging into the flesh and bones of his ankles.

A door slammed, making her flinch, but her eyes stayed trained on the alien in front of her, willing him to give some sign of life, or even regeneration. She’d take anything at this point. Instead, the Professor swayed gently back and forth from the new breeze circulating the room, his knuckles brushing against the dirt floor.

A whimper of distress escaped her throat as one of the Croatoan, the aliens that had taken them, came into view. It (she couldn’t tell if it was male of female) had black glossy skin that glistened where the light hit it with large leathery wings protruding from its back and looming up over its head. Small shark-like teeth were revealed as it grinned widely at her, drool pooling and spilling over its lips. It reached out, deathly claws extended on all five humanoid fingers, and raked the talons across the Professor’s chest, marking him once more. The Professor didn’t react in any way, which was almost worse than hearing his previous howls of agony, but a wordless scream still echoed in Billie’s ears. It took Josie yelling her name over and over for her to realize she was the one making that God awful noise. Her breath caught in her throat, cutting her off as she watched the new deep wounds slowly bleed alongside the old ones.

The alien chuckled, low and deep, small beady eyes glittering with amusement as it watched her struggle to catch her breath. Her eyes finally left the Professor long enough to lock with the Croatoan’s. The absolute glee she found there made her choke on bile as her stomach churned. When its hand raised once more, blood slowly dripping down from the sharp talons, to inflict more injuries on the unconscious Time Lord, something in her snapped. Later, she assumed she might feel bad about this, but in the moment all she could think about was saving the Professor, Josie barely a blip on her radar at this point.

All sound suddenly seemed muffled, the rush of blood in her ears drowning out the nightmare around her. Her mind seemed to expand, reaching out in a way that was both familiar and strange. She’d always been more aware of people, the sound of their minds always lingering on the edge of her consciousness since the Professor taught her how to control her ability. Now however, she felt the mind around her flare to life in her own as she wrapped around them. Josie’s she layered in protection before skipping over to the Professor’s and prodding, trying to get some reaction from him. The storm gray aura of his mind slowly grew, reaching out to her own royal purple aura and assuring her that he was alright, merely exhausted from his injuries. She soothed him, comforted him until he settled back down before she pulled back enough to strengthen his own mental shields. He was going to need it for what she had planned.

When she was finished making sure her family survived she raised her head, locking gazes with the Croatoan in front of her. Without missing a beat, Billie threw all the power she held at the alien, invading its mind as easily as slipping through an open door. It had no defenses whatsoever, making her job that much easier. She ripped through, tearing at everything she touched so that the alien was screaming in agony, collapsing into a twitching pile of misery at her feet before growing abnormally still. She didn’t stop there, pushing herself out more, searching for every single Croatoan with a fifty mile radius and tearing at their minds as well. Along the way she found the Doctor’s dark blue signature growing closer, looking for them. Good. They needed a way out once she was done.

A few minutes later, she sagged in exhaustion, only being held up by the restraints still attached to her body. She could hear Josie quietly calling to her, asking what was happening, her voice hoarse from screams Billie hadn’t heard. Billie didn’t answer, didn’t think she could look her sister in the eye let alone speak about what she had done. She never thought she could so easily kill anyone, let alone an entire species of alien. But what scared her more was that she didn’t feel any regret. She protected her family, and for that she couldn’t feel guilty.

The door slammed open, making Josie jump and scream in alarm. Billie’s eyes flicked over numbly, uncaring about what he would see. It didn’t matter anymore.

The Doctor’s eyes were wide with horror, his jaw clenched tight as he looked her directly in the eyes. She could hear his mental shouts of disgust and flinched away. She refused to feel guilt, but that didn’t mean she could stand being looked at like she was some sort of evil villain. Especially from someone she looked up to, someone she cared about like a brother. Tears stung the back of her eyes as the Doctor walked slowly over, stopping directly in front of her. She wished the restraints were gone so she could turn her head away. As it was, she was forced to look at him, waiting for him to speak.

“What have you done?” his whispered, steely voice cut deeper than if he had yelled at her. Another piece of her broke inside at the question, allowing the tears to overflow and run down her cheeks, sobs racking her body as the Doctor turned away from her like she was nothing.

* * *

The Professor groggily blinked against the bright light above him, forcing his mind into some semblance of order as he pieced together what had happened to him. He remembered the Doctor piloting them to a trip for the girls, so they could test drive their new sonics. He remembered stumbling onto the seemingly abandoned village. He remembered Billie not willing to enter, feeling the psychic imprints left by the missing villagers. And then…And then…

He couldn’t recall. _Something_ had happened. Something bad. But besides the vague sense of badness, he could gather no more from his memory. He needed…

“Billie?” His voice seemed harsh, even to his own ears, like he hadn’t used it in a long while.

“Here,” a distinctly male (and therefore distinctly not Billie’s) voice answered his call, placing a glass of bubbling green liquid in front of him. “This’ll help.”

The Professor finally recognized his brother’s voice, though the hard edge had him more than a little worried. He took the glass and downed whatever was in it without question, wincing at the taste as he swung his legs over the side of his cot, only now realizing he was in Medical Bay. What had happened?

The Doctor kindly answered his unspoken question, “You nearly died.” Not regenerated. _Died_. Well, then.

“Where’s Billie?” The Professor slid from his bed, his boots were nearby as well as his jacket, both tucked neatly into a corner out of the way.

A tick in the Doctor’s jaw jumped at the question but he didn’t answer. Instead he spun around and strode purposefully from the room. The Professor scrambled to get his things and follow him, catching up just as the younger Time Lord entered the console room. The Doctor began pressing buttons, piloting the ship somewhere without looking at his brother.

“Theta,” he growled, eyes narrowing at his brother’s moodiness. “Where’s Billie?”

“Packing,” he bit out, eyes flashing when they finally met his brother’s.

“Wha…”

“I told her she could wait until you woke up, and then I’m taking her home.”

“Wha…Theta, why…”

“I will not have her anywhere near Josie,” his voice turned low and deadly, not to be argued with. Not that the Professor had ever listened to that before. “I’m taking her home.”


	15. School Reunion: Those Left Behind

She was crying again. He could hear the muffled sobs even through the door. Luke sighed as he sank to the ground, back to his cousin’s bedroom door. Ever since the Doctor had all but thrown her out of the TARDIS, Billie had locked herself in her room, crying, and refused to come out. What made it worse was the Doctor had somehow kept Josie and the Professor from contacting Billie, or even saying goodbye. That just didn’t make sense to the young man. No matter what happened, they wouldn’t just abandon her like this.

It was especially difficult because when they had shown up, Luke had been alone in the house. Still was, in fact. His mom was out looking into some strange occurrences at a local school. So he’d been on his own, unable to make his cousin, practically his sister, talk to him while she cried. He’d never seen her so distressed and, quite frankly, it was starting to scare him. He’d already scrolled through the contacts on his phone, lingering over both Donna and Sarah Jane’s number. He was so tempted to call one of them for help.

A particularly loud sob made his mind up for him. He couldn’t handle this on his own. It was time to call in the reinforcements.

Donna picked up on the third ring, “What’s up, little man?”

“Billie’s home,” he answered lowly, not wanting his cousin to overhear. “But something’s wrong. I…I don’t…”

“Gimme ten minutes.”

The dial tone followed Donna’s last comment and Luke sighed. His head hit the door with a dull thud. Billie’s sobs stuttered to a stop and he took the chance in calling out again, trying to get her to let him in.

“I’m fine Luke,” she claimed, her breaking voice giving away her lie.

He slumped against the door again. There really wasn’t anything for him to do now but wait for Donna to show up and hope he never had to feel this useless ever again.

* * *

She really didn’t want to talk about it. Especially not to Luke. He was far too young to have to deal with everything she’d done. But when Donna had charged into her room, having picked the lock, and dove under the covers with her, both turning onto their sides to look at each other from the safe stuffiness of their blanket sanctuary like they had as kids, Billie knew she wouldn’t be able to fight off the ginger’s curiosity.

As it turned out, she really didn’t need much prodding after all. She may not have wanted to say anything, but she really had a lot she _needed_ to get off her chest. The whole confrontation with the Croatoan was laid out for the redhead’s dissection. Billie couldn’t hide anything from her best friend. She just hoped the woman wouldn’t look at her differently, much like the Doctor had.

Part of her was still angry. She hadn’t been able to say goodbye or explain herself. She hadn’t even been able to see the Professor who was still in the Medical Bay when the Doctor all but shoved her off his ship with a scowl. Josie had tried to argue with him, to beg him to let her sister stay, but he wouldn’t even look at her. Billie had no choice but to leave, her bigger-on-the-inside backpack strapped to her hunched shoulders, tears in her eyes. At least he’d been nice enough to drop her off inside her aunt’s house. Luke had no doubt been startled by her distraught appearance, but she’d hardly paid him any mind as she rushed off to her room and locked herself within.

Once everything was out in the open, Donna scowled, threw an arm around her friend and cuddled her like a teddy bear, “You are brilliant. That Martian doesn’t know what he lost by leaving you here.”

Billie laughed weakly, returning the hug, “I killed off an entire race and you call me brilliant?”

“You saved your family. _That’s_ brilliant.”

She snorted, “Thanks, but I don’t think they see it that way.”

“Bloody spaceman,” Donna mumbled angrily under her breath, causing Billie to bite back her first real smile that day. Part of her really hoped the Doctor made the mistake of coming back, just so Donna could rip him a new one.

The two best friends laid together under the blankets, talking quietly about anything and everything that could take Billie’s mind off the situation.

It wasn’t until an hour or so later that they were interrupted. Billie could tell it was her aunt sitting on the side of the bed just by the sweet smell of her perfume. It smelled like safety and love. Something that always had the ability to calm her when she was growing up. The blankets were pulled down to reveal Sarah Jane frowning down at the two girls.

“Luke said you were crying,” she carefully took in her niece’s appearance. “And that they left without you. What happened?”

The soft but commanding tone almost had Billie breaking down again. She could hardly keep it together at all as she tried to recite once more what had happened. By the end she couldn’t handle it anymore and Sarah Jane was forced to pull her into her arms, comforting her as best she could. Billie was certain she would never be able to cry again. Surely she wouldn’t be able to physically make any more tears.

“I never thought they’d do this to you,” Sarah Jane sighed.

“But what I did…” Billie shook her head, burrowing closer to her aunt’s side. Donna was pressed against her other side, anger just barely under control.

“Was no excuse,” Sarah Jane cut her off. “You did what you had to, to save all of your lives. It’s no worse than some of the things both of those aliens have done in the past. Sometimes you have to make bad choices for the right reasons. They especially should understand that.”

“I never even got to say goodbye,” she whispered weakly. “Josie and the Professor. I didn’t get to see him before I left.”

“Probably because he wouldn’t have let you leave,” her aunt gently brushed hair out of her face. “He wouldn’t judge you for what you did. He loves you too much.” Billie felt her face warm at the comment, but fortunately Sarah Jane decided to ignore it. “The Doctor has always been a bit more…judgmental is probably the best word. He simply holds his companions to higher standards, thinks they should accomplish more than sometimes they are able. The Professor has a better understanding of people’s limits. If anything he has a tendency to underestimate certain people.”

Billie’s lip twitched up, “Like nine-year-olds from the twentieth century who get lost in World War Two?”

Sarah Jane chuckled, “Exactly. I think you’ll be just fine. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Josie calls you before the night is out.”

Billie nodded, knowing she was right. Josie at least wouldn’t abandon her completely. They were sisters after all, and no amount of distance, physical or otherwise, between them would change that.

“Now,” Sarah Jane slid out from the bed, motioning both younger women to sit up. “Clean up, wash your face, and come downstairs. The world doesn’t stop turning and aliens just keep on invading.”

“What?” Well, that caught her attention.

“How would you like to help your old Auntie with a case?”


	16. School Reunion: Not Forgotten

The Professor growled in annoyance as he tried to get up and a pain shot through his torso. It had been two weeks and he was still completely useless. Whatever that alien had done to him had really worked him over. He probably could have lived with that, if it weren’t for the glaring absence of a certain tiny brunette woman. There had to be something wrong, he _knew_ it. Billie wouldn’t just leave him while he was this injured. Not to mention every time he tried to ask his brother about her, the Doctor quickly changed the subject, his eyes going dark with some unnamed emotion. At one point he’d heard Josie practically screeching in anger, but it had been too distant to hear any distinct words. But Billie was completely silent. Even when he reached out with his mind, she was blocking him so well, it was as if she wasn’t even there.

 _Wasn’t even there_.

His jaw clenched as the bedroom door swung open and Theta stepped in, hands in his pockets, “Ah! Feeling better?”

“Where is she?” the Professor snarled at his brother, praying that he was wrong. When he didn’t answer, the elder Time Lord continued, “Tell me she isn’t…”

“She’s not dead,” the Doctor’s voice was oddly flat. “Though she should be.”

His hearts nearly stopped, “What?”

“She killed everyone. Used her telepathy to extinguish all of the Croatoan. She could have killed us too.”

“She would never–”

“I couldn’t take that chance,” the Doctor cut him off.

Dread curled around his lungs and nearly cut off his air supply, “What have you done?”

“What I had to.”

“Which was…”

The Doctor stared at his brother for a long minute, “I took her home.” At the Professor’s angry expression, he explained, “She killed off an entire species. She committed genocide.”

“She did what she had to!” the Professor breathed heavily as his anger rose. “She did nothing less than what I have done.”

His brow furrowed in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“The Time War. You were unconscious, already beginning to regenerate. I had to make a decision.” He paused, looking down at his hands in his lap. The hands of a murderer. It was something he had to live with. Something that to this day gave him nightmares. If he could barely handle it, how could Billie? He needed to see her.

“I killed them,” he admitted in a whisper. “I killed our people.”

* * *

Josie slapped a ladleful of oatmeal onto the Doctor’s tray, not caring that it sprayed a bit onto his tie. She refused to make eye contact with him until he sighed and moved away. Served him right. He didn’t deserve any special attention from her. Kicking out her sister and then refusing to tell the Professor about any of it. _He_ should have been the one to be kicked out.

Okay, so what Billie did was a little terrifying, but that didn’t mean she would have hurt any of them. They were family, and that meant the world to both human-pluses. Billie wouldn’t do a thing to harm them, but anything to protect them. As far as Josie was concerned, the incident with the Croatoan just proved that. But did the bigheaded idiot actually listen to her? Of course not. Why would he? Not like she knew anything about this sort of thing. Not like she’d been traveling with them since she was a kid or anything.

She had her own lunch break after all the children had run off back to classes and she had finished washing her share of the dishes. Normally she’d spend that time snooping and trying to help as much as possible with the investigation. The giant mysterious barrels were probably worth poking around, but she was too upset with the Doctor to even feign interest. Instead she told her boss she was leaving for lunch, the lady simply waving her away, and walked out of the cafeteria toward where the TARDIS was hidden in an unused broom closet.

The old girl hummed as Josie stepped inside with a half-smile. She patted the console affectionately as she passed it on the way to the Professor’s room. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he still wasn’t strong enough to help with whatever was happening in the school, so the Time Lord was forced to stay inside, though not restricted to bed rest any longer. She could hear grumbling as she approached the correct door and smirked. She had planned to just peek in and see if he needed anything, but maybe he’d like some company for a little while.

“Professor?” she called with a knock to the door. He muttered something which she decided was her signal to come in. She found the Professor sitting at the edge of his bed, dressed, with one arm clutched around his stomach as if he were in pain. She glanced down to find one of his boots on, but unlaced and the other sitting nearby.

“Going somewhere?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shot a glare at her and said nothing.

She smiled sadly, knowing exactly where he had intended to go. She had half a mind to go with him. Actually, that wasn’t such a bad idea. He startled when she suddenly plopped down at his feet, helping him tie his shoe and then put on the other. He said nothing but she could almost feel a hole burning into her skull from his glare.

“What?” she grinned when he continued to glare at her. “You really weren’t going to be able to get those on your own, and I’m really not letting you go without me.”

He blinked at her.

“I want Josie back just as much as you do.” She paused in thought, “Well, maybe not _quite_ as much. Just wait here for me to get changed.”

* * *

Billie sat on the couch, Sarah Jane’s laptop perched on her knees as she searched through the files the Brigadier had sent her. UFO sightings, then suddenly a school gets extremely high ratings. Even the Brigadier thought it was fishy. He told her to call whenever they got anything, and once he found out she was with her Aunt Sarah, and not the Time Lords, he promised to them both a dress down if they should try to contact them. She had forced a laugh and just asked for him to tell Josie she was alright if she called him. Apparently, Billie was now officially his granddaughter. She had to admit, after everything she’d been through the past few days, it was nice to feel so cared for.

It had only taken a moment of flipping through the file to find the huge red letters denying access to the more detailed bits. The word Torchwood, however, made her smirk. She hadn’t intended to spread the word amongst the family about what had happened, but she couldn’t lie to Jack. Everything came spilling out and she wound up having another good cry while Jack tried his best to sooth her over the phone. He gave her full access to all Torchwood files, indefinitely, and promised to come visit the second he was free. A second later an ear-splitting alarm echoed over the line and Jack had to go. Even so, that call made her feel even better and by the time Sarah Jane came back, she was smiling again, if a little weakly.

It was decided that they would wait for after the school closed for the day to investigate further and Billie called Donna to tell her the news. The ginger had made her friend swear she could come along before she left for work. Billie just hoped she knew what she was doing.

“ _Hello_?” Donna’s bored drawl answered after three rings.

“Hey,” Billie smiled as she imagined Donna sitting up straighter, suddenly much more excited. “You doing anything tonight?”

“ _That depends_ ,” she teased. “ _I may have to save the world from some idiot alien in a blue box_.”

Billie snorted, “We’re going to break into the school tonight, I figured that was right up your alley.”

“ _One time! On a dare!_ ”

Billie laughed at her friend’s indignant tone. The doorbell rang drawing her attention.

“Could you get that, Billie? I’ve just started dinner,” Sarah Jane called from the kitchen.

“Sure,” she called back and then went back to talking to Donna while walking towards the front door, “We’re leaving at nine. You want a pick up or are you meeting us there?”

Whatever answer she received was lost to Billie who had just opened the door to reveal two people eagerly staring at her, like she would disappear if they so much as blinked.

“Billie,” a familiar deep voice sighed.

Her phone fell from her hand, Donna’s voice tiny as it echoed through the air, “Professor.

Suddenly she was blindsided and was nearly knocked into the door with a huff. She wrapped her arms around her younger sister to steady herself. Josie was mumbling a litany of apologizes, but Billie’s eyes never left the alien’s. His mind reached out tentatively, barely brushing against hers. She returned the brush more strongly, not wanting to force her presence in his mind if he didn’t want it, but needing that connection more than ever.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” she practically begged to be forgiven.

One step was all it took for him to be pressed against her side, ignoring Josie still clinging to her front, and his hand tangled in her messy hair, “ _There’s nothing to forgive_.”


	17. School Reunion: Mother Bear

He had come back for her. He had _stayed_. He didn’t hate her for what she had done. It didn’t matter what the Doctor had said to her because the Professor was here and he understood. He respected her. He was _proud of her_. Billie felt almost elated as she watched the popcorn slowly popping in the slowly inflating bag currently rotating inside her aunt’s microwave. The Professor was a solid warmth beside her, digging through a cupboard for a bowl big enough to hold two bags worth of the buttery treat. He chuckled at her as she counted down aloud with the timer during the last ten seconds. It was almost as if nothing was wrong, nothing catastrophic had happened recently. At least they could pretend for a little while.

Sarah Jane and Josie had left immediately after dinner – after Sarah Jane had talked to the Professor privately – to pick up Donna and continue with the investigation in the school. Normally Billie would insist on going along but her aunt had refused.

“You need this,” Sarah Jane had pressed her hands on either side of her niece’s head to make sure the young woman was paying close attention. “The two of you need some time alone, to talk things through.”

“Things? What things?”

Sarah Jane had simply smiled knowingly and pressed a kiss to her adopted daughter’s forehead before walking out the door, a smirking redhead trailing behind her. It had been a little confusing, but Billie had to admit it was nice be left completely alone with the Professor. It had been ages since they’d had a peaceful moment just the two of them.

They settled down on the couch, arms brushing as they situated their snacks and Billie surfed through Netflix for something to watch. Once the old Audrey Hepburn movie’s opening sequence started, she curled more securely into his side while his arm wrapped around her shoulders, anchoring her to him. Her head lolled to the side, tucking under his chin as she snuggled down. Halfway through Audrey falling in love, Billie could swear she felt him bury his nose in her hair and inhale before brushing his lips to the crown of her head. She smiled and sent her emotions down their connection, assuring him she was happy.

He took another deep breath and gently nudged her away enough to make eye contact, “Billie…”

Her brow furrowed when he hesitated to continue, “Professor, you alright?”

He stared at her, his blue eyes deep and unfathomable, making her breath hitch. His fingers gently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear without breaking their gazes, “Perfect.” His voice was low, vibrating against the palm of her hand where it was still placed on his chest for balance. A shiver ran down her spine at the husky tone and a blush embarrassingly rushed to her cheeks. “Everything’s perfect.”

* * *

The Doctor pouted as he followed his old companion to the cafeteria to collect the odd oil the dinner ladies had stored back there. They had said they were here to help, but so far all that had happened was them yelling at him before Sarah had begun dishing out orders like some kind of general. Donna and Josie had slinked off with smirks on their faces while Sarah had practically marched off, the alien meekly trailing behind her. He knew she’d have something to say about how he’d treated her niece, and he had never actually thought he’d fear one of his closest friends. Yet here he was, praying to a god he didn’t believe in that one little human would go easy on him. Rassilon, he was pathetic.

Sarah led him to an empty classroom, walking to a desk in the middle of the room and leaning back against it. Her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at him. Enough fire was in her eyes to burn an entire planet. The Doctor gulped as his mind spun, trying desperately to think of something to say to explain. Honestly, since his talk with his brother, the Doctor had come to terms with what had happened. The adrenaline and fear had settled enough for him to realize he had acted rashly. Oh, he still worried about the power lying within the miniscule girl he considered family, but now he was rational enough to realize she was still the same girl from before, they were simply more aware of what she was capable of in certain circumstances.

And the new information he’d gotten on how the Time War had really ended was another matter entirely and he refused to dwell on it as to not overreact again. He’d deal with that later.

“Well?” Sarah’s sharp voice brought him back to the present. “Are you going to explain?”

“She killed all of them, Sarah,” he said quietly, knowing it wasn’t the wisest thing to say, but he had to explain himself. “I was afraid she’d hurt one of us.”

“Billie would never!”

“I know,” he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to rub away the beginnings of a headache. There was too much going on at this school for him to be worrying over his personal life. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Sarah eyed him, clearly searching for a reason to continue arguing. When her shoulders slumped slightly but the fire refused to fade from her eyes, he knew he was out of the line of fire, if only for the time being.

“So you’re not abandoning her.”

“No, Sarah. I doubt my brother, Josie, or even the bloody _TARDIS_ would let me. Why do you think we’re still here?”

“The school,” she raised an eyebrow, motioning with one hand at their surroundings.

“Nope,” he smiled humorlessly, “We just stumbled across this.”

She snorted, “Of course you did.”

A groan from the door had them both turning to Donna who was frowning at them, “That’s it? You’re not even gonna smack him.”

Sarah smirked at the red head and tilted her head just so. An outright _evil_ glint appeared in Donna’s eyes, making the Doctor take an involuntary step back. His instinct seemed to be spot on, but he still wasn’t fast enough to dodge Billie’s best friend’s open right palm. His cheek was still had a burning red handprint as they raced away from the school, the Krillitane a looming presence behind them.

* * *

Who knew humans could be so terrifying? And he wasn’t even talking about Billie committing genocide. He’d faced off hundreds of beings – humans included – who tried to become bigger than they were, who used others for their own gain, who murdered and pillaged and committed every type of villainy he could think of and then some. But he had never been so scared for his life as when Sarah him aside to speak with him privately while Josie and Billie sat huddled together on the couch, speaking too quietly for him to hear. He had been sure she was going to complain about his brother’s treatment of Billie (something he agreed with and was almost looking forward to listening to Sarah Jane’s irate rant) but what he got was so much worse.

The smack on the back of his head wasn’t entirely new. When she was younger and still traveling with them, Sarah Jane had been known to smack them occasionally when she was reaching her breaking point, but he hadn’t thought he warranted it now.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed before he could protest the treatment, his hand rubbing absently at the back of his head.

“What have _I_ done?” he hissed back with a scowl.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that’s the point. If you didn’t have your head so far up your ass, Billie wouldn’t have been doubting her place on the TARDIS when the Doctor left her here.”

His brow furrowed in confusion, “What?”

“Oh for God’s sake,” she sighed and practically shoved him into a chair at her kitchen table before sitting across from him. “You are so oblivious it hurts, you know that? She’s not much better, but I’d thought you would have at least been smart enough to do something about it by now.”

“About _what_?”

“About how you two being utterly in love with one another and not doing a damned thing about it,” she answered honestly, completely taking him by surprise. His jaw nearly hit her table it fell so far. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s pretty damn obvious.”

He couldn’t help his eyes darting to the closed door connecting to the living room where he could hear Billie chuckling lightly about something her sister said, “I…”

“You’re going to do something about it,” Sarah ordered. “Tonight. I don’t want to see my daughter so heartbroken ever again, understand.”

The Professor had nodded quickly, shocked by the deadly threat in his friend’s voice and eyes. The only thought floating through his head as she got up to join the other women in the house was, _had he really just been given a shovel speech?_

Despite his fear of Sarah’s wrath, he knew she was right. He’d been dancing around his feelings for too long and he’d almost lost Billie because of it. It was time to change that. So he took Sarah’s advice, though he fumbled through his admittance. Billie didn’t seemed to mind all that much, judging by her willing reaction.

Sarah Jane was right. They had needed time alone to work out their feelings. He was sure, however, that she hadn’t meant for it to end the way it did. The Professor regretted nothing, though, as he settled down next to a deliciously nude Billie in her room in Sarah Jane’s house.


	18. School Reunion: New Beginnings

Jack leaned against the wall of the alley, eyes darting back and forth as Unit tried to round up all the children still cheering in the streets while simultaneously manage the press and clean-up of whatever alien had decided a school was the best target on Earth. Torchwood hadn’t been called in, and even if they had been this was out of his jurisdiction, but he’d come anyway, if only to find out what had happened to his sister. His team had seemed a little miffed that he’d taken a personal day for the first time ever, but had let him leave with minimal complaints.

But he knew if either of his sisters were involved (and he knew for a fact they were) then they’d be in the middle of the fray, probably using the chaos as cover to run away. He just had to make sure Billie was on that TARDIS along with the others. He refused to believe the Professor would leave her behind so easily, despite what Billie had told him over the phone the day before. There was just no way that would happen. That daft old alien would rather see the world burn than see Billie left behind.

That being said, if Billie, for whatever reason, was abandoned here on Earth, Jack was going to track down those Time Lords and kick their asses into the next century. Then he was going to pack up _both_ of his sisters and move them into Torchwood with him.

“Jack?” a familiar happy voice called from the other end of the alley, making him spin. He grinned at the sight of his sister wrapped in the Professor hideous old coat, said alien’s hand interlinked with her own. But it was the dopey grins on the couple’s faces that really had Jack smiling widely.

“Jeanie,” he greeted, giving her a quick hug. “I figured you two would be in the middle of all that,” he jammed a thumb over his shoulder towards the scrambling members of Unit.

A blush bloomed across her face as Billie shrugged, not making eye contact with her brother, “Oh, you know…we were…er…”

“Busy,” the Professor smirked when Billie elbowed him in the ribs, her blush darkening and spreading.

Jack cackled madly. He may not want the details, but it was nice to know those two had finally come to their senses. And seeing Billie so embarrassed was always hilarious, even when she tried to glare at him for laughing at her.

He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the forehead, “Congratulations. It’s about time.”

Billie huffed, “That seems to be the general consensus, yeah.”

He grinned and turned to the Professor, “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re letting what the Doctor did go.”

The smile on his face melted off as he tugged Billie closer, as if his brother was going to try to take her away again, “Of course not.”

“Professor,” Billie sighed, shaking her head even as she slid her arms around his waist. She snuggled into his side in a way she’d done probably a million times, but suddenly it seemed a million times more intimate. Jack almost felt the need to look away.

“I’m not letting it go,” he growled, eyes narrowed at the school where the Doctor was probably still hiding from the humans.

“Of course not. I’m not either. But please don’t start anything until we hear his side. _Please_.”

The Professor visibly deflated at the sight of Billie big puppy dog eyes. Jack mimed a whip motion while making the corresponding noise and grinned when the Professor scowled at him. They traded expressions, however, when Billie reached out to smack her brother on the shoulder. Hard. She took both of their hands, completely ignoring them as she headed towards the school, undeterred by the military. Jack was about to question how she could do that when the Brigadier appeared from seemingly nowhere.

“Billie,” the elder man smiled and gave her a hug to the shock of several officers. “Where’s your sister?”

“Still inside, my guess. Along with Aunt Sarah and Donna.”

“And the Doctor?”

“Yep.”

His smile turned almost feral, “Good. I’m sure those ladies have given him a good piece of their minds.” Jack chuckled, drawing attention to the two men who’d come up with Billie. “Professor. Captain. Good to see you again.”

“Brigadier,” the Professor nodded and pulled Billie closer again, his hand in hers sign enough to her grandfather. He smiled but was interrupted by one of his men questioning why three civilians were on their scene.

“This is Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood accompanying my granddaughter Billie Jean and her boyfriend who I asked to meet me here,” the Brigadier told the man in a harsh tone, making the other man cower slightly. Jack noticed the Professor and Billie blushing and smirking at the term “boyfriend” and snickered. Billie stuck out her tongue at him in retaliation.

“Sir,” Jack interrupted as the man scurried away, “I’m afraid I have to get back to my team. It was nice to see you again.” They shook hands and Jack gave a quick good-bye hug to Billie and the Professor before taking his leave. He’d see them all soon, he was sure, and as much as he would like to yell at the Doctor, it was clear Billie had more than enough family fighting for her honor already present.


	19. Countrycide: Non-Human Life Forms

Owen was still grumbling about the tent as Tosh walked away, a hurt expression on her face. Jack felt bad, but they were adults. He couldn’t monitor their love lives for them. Hell, he was having enough troubles with his own. Still, Owen should be a little kinder to her. They were a team after all.

He sat back in the SUV, going over all the equipment while still keeping an eye on the others setting up camp. Gwen, feeling the residual tension from Owen and Tosh’s small spat, decided to start a game, something teenaged girls would play at a sleepover.

“Oh, come on, it’s just a bit of fun!” she called to the still grumpy Owen. Jack smirked slightly, bowing his head to hide it. It wouldn’t do for any of them to see his growing fondness for the brunette. “Who was the last person you snogged?”

“You even sound like an eight-year-old. Who the hell says ‘snog’?” Owen growled, moving closer to where the girls were sorting out supplies.

“Mine was Rhys,” she smiled at the mention of her fiancé.

Jack turned away, pretending to check his watch and the map. He really couldn’t stand her fiancé at all. He would like to say it was only because he was jealous – because he was – but that wasn’t it. There was just something about the man that rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t put a finger on why, but he couldn’t say anything until he had some sort of proof. Until then, he made sure to watch and listen carefully for any sign that something wasn’t all right in the lovers’ world.

“Yeah, well,” Owen grumbled, “There’s a surprise.”

“Tosh, your go,” Gwen ignored him.

“It’s easy for you.” It was hard to tell, what with the cold wind biting at all of their skin, but Jack could swear the shy Asian was blushing.

“Oh, come on, spill the beans!”

Tosh looked up in thought before turning to their medic, “Owen.”

Jack looked over curiously as Ianto set out canvas benches so they wouldn’t have to sit on the ground. When had that happened?

“What?” Owen looked up, startled.

“Really?” Gwen sounded incredulous.

“Tosh, only in your dreams,” he sneered. Jack had to hold back the urge to smack him upside the head. That was just plain rude.

“Three a.m., Christmas Eve,” Tosh began to explain. “In front of the Millennium Centre, waiting for a cab. I had mistletoe.”

“Christmas?” Owen raised an eyebrow. “You’ve not had a snog since.” Jack thought it was ironic that just a moment ago, Owen had been teasing Gwen for the use of that word.

“No.”

They all sat down quietly as an awkward silence reigned. Gwen looked sorry she had started any of this. Jack could feel her pain. The tension between Tosh and Owen could be a bit much at times.

“Well, lucky me, eh?” Owen joked lightly, trying to defuse the situation.

Tosh bit her lip, eyeing Owen, before giving in to curiosity, “So who was yours?”

Owen looked up slowly and Gwen’s face fell, eyes wide. Even from his place still in the car, Jack could tell she was silently begging him not to say something.

“Gwen, actually,” he said, sounding smug.

Jack straightened. _What?_ This was not okay. Not okay, because she was engaged. Not okay, because if she was willing to move on from Rhys, it shouldn’t be with that idiot Owen. He was nowhere near good enough for her. The tension seemed a million times worse as both Tosh and Jack felt their hearts plummet.

“When was this?” Tosh asked, her voice small.

“It was complicated,” Gwen murmured, clearly trying to drop the subject. She was glaring daggers at Owen who merely smirked.

“Didn’t take you long to get your feet under the table,” Tosh sounded bitter. Jack silently echoed the sentiment, though his was aimed towards Owen.

“What?” Gwen seemed hurt by Tosh’s comment. The two had been fast friends when Gwen joined. It seemed that wasn’t going to last much longer now. Jack stood, moving towards the group in the hope to maybe distract them enough to change the topic. He really didn’t want to hear any more.

“So was it just a kiss or…” Tosh’s falsely chipper voice trailed off.

“Tosh, leave it,” Gwen begged.

“Jack,” Owen turned towards him to restart the game, still eyeing Gwen.

“Are we including non-human life-forms?” he asked with a smirk.

Gwen laughed, “You haven’t!”

“You’re a sick man, Harkness! That is disgusting!” Owen inched away from him, making Jack’s grin grow into a full-blown smile.

“I never know when he’s joking,” Gwen shook her head. Jack chuckled.

Before anyone could say anything more, a loud bang sounded from above them. They all instinctively hit the ground and reached for weapons kept in holsters and shoved in jean waistbands. Jack twisted his head to make sure everyone was alright. He froze when the bang morphed into a familiar mechanical wheezing. A laugh that sounded more like a cackle bubbled up his throat as he gazed up at the TARDIS spinning about fifty feet above them.

“Jack?” Gwen asked shakily. “What is that?”

“A friend,” he sighed before standing. “And you might want to move out of the way before he lands.”

He watched his team scramble out of the way a second before the time ship landed with a loud thud, dust spraying everywhere. The team moved to where he was standing, guns still raised. He rolled his eyes but didn’t stop them. If it made them feel safer he’d leave them for now. He heard the door creak open on the other side and someone scoff.

“Fail!” Josie’s voice called out.

“This is not Cardiff,” Billie said. “And it hardly looks like Christmas time.”

“Double fail!” Josie chuckled.

Jack couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping, “You’re about two months too early for Christmas.”

There was a moment of silence before the familiar ginger and brunette poked their heads around the side of the TARDIS, eyes wide with curiosity. They broke into matching beaming smiles when he held his arms out for them.

“Jack!” they called together launching forward to tackle him in a three-way hug. He laughed with them as he wrapped an arm around each of their waists and lifted them off the ground, spinning slightly to make them giggle louder.

“Well, at least I dropped you off with the right person.”

Jack stopped spinning, still grinning widely as he kissed both of his sisters’ heads and turned toward the alien. The Doctor stood with his usual manic smile, hands buried deep in the pockets of his pinstriped suit as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

“Hey there, Doc,” Jack greeted, going over to give him a hug as well. “I wasn’t expecting you all so soon.”

“Yeah well, that’s what we get for letting the Doctor drive,” Billie laughed.

The Doctor pouted about to say something, only for Jack to interrupt, “Where’s the Professor?”

“Emergency call,” the middle sibling replied. “We decided since we were ready for our little Christmas vacation, the Professor would answer the call while the Doctor dropped us off then he’ll go help. Then they’ll jump ahead and pick us up in January.”

Jack nodded in understanding before spotting the clearly confused expressions of his team. “Sorry. Guys, this is Josie, Billie, and the Doctor. And this is my team, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, and Ianto.” The team eyed the newcomers and the box with suspicion while the three time travelers smiled and waved happily. “I asked Billie and Josie to come during the holidays to help cover for Gwen while she’s on her honeymoon and so she doesn’t have to worry during the wedding. Though it seems they’ve decided to come a little early.”

Josie pointed a finger at the sheepish looking alien, “Blame him. He’s a horrible driver.”

“Oi!” he protested.

Jack laughed, “It’s fine. I don’t mind you two staying longer. You can help with the case we’re on.”

“Sounds like fun,” Josie smiled.

“You haven’t even heard what we’re doing,” Owen griped suspiciously.

She shrugged, “Still fun.”

“We’ll go get our bags,” Billie grabbed Josie’s wrist and pulled her back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the girls and gave Jack another brotherly hug, “I better go. See you in January.”

“Have the Professor drive so you’re actually on time.”

The Doctor pouted again as he disappeared into his ship.

“Jack,” Ianto asked hesitantly, “Are they…aliens?”

“Or, uh, non-human life-forms?” Owen raised his eyebrows suggestively, mentioning Jack’s earlier comment. The others looked just as curious, staring at him with wide eyes. Gwen looked a bit shell-shocked, eyeing the TARDIS with a strange expression he couldn’t place.

Jack just smiled. It’d be fun to see how long it took them to figure it all out. It wasn’t like they didn’t know about the Doctor and Professor. Torchwood had a thick file on the interfering Time Lords, though it had been significantly shrunken when Jack joined. Nobody suspected it was him who had removed the more sensitive information.

The girls reappeared, packs on their shoulders that were much too small to hold enough for two and a half months. They must have been bigger on the inside. Gotta love Time Lord technology. The three stood separate from the team and watched as the TARDIS disappeared.

“So,” Josie said to break the silence. “Do I get a gun?”

Billie groaned and walked away, heading further into camp.

“No,” Jack said bluntly, following his sister while the others trailed after.

“Oh, come on!”

“Absolutely not.”

“But you always use a gun!”

“I know _how_ to use a gun.”

Josie paused in the middle of camp, shifting from foot to foot as her pack slid off her arm to the ground, “If you teach me how to use it, then can I get a gun.”

“Sure.”

“I weep for the universe,” Billie said to Gwen who had come up beside her.


	20. Countrycide: Unknown Entity

Billie and Josie had their own tent erected within a matter of minutes and were now watching Owen fail at getting his put up with amused grins on their faces. Gwen watched them out of the corner of her eye while she helped set up the campfire with Ianto.

Jack had stuck to the girls’ sides since moving all of his things into their much smaller tent. It didn’t even seem big enough to fit them all, but then again, there was no way the tent could fit into Josie’s pack (where they had gotten it) either. It was clear they weren’t human, even if they looked like it. The three now joined at the hip were completely mum on the subject, however. And it was driving her insane! Why couldn’t they just admit it?

“So what were you guys doing when we first showed up?” Josie asked when Jack led them back to the fire. Gwen had started passing out sandwiches for dinner, frowning when she realized it would no longer be enough.

“Don’t worry about food,” Billie assured her as the alien (Gwen refused to believe she was human) rummaged through her bag. “I snagged something from the kitchen for me and Josie when I realized we were going to be camping.”

Gwen nodded, not even wanting to know what she was talking about (like how the hell that blue box even _had_ a kitchen, let alone how they all fit in there; it was the tent thing all over again), and turned back to the conversation between Jack and Josie.

“Pretty much just this,” Jack answered.

“Oh, and we were playing a game,” Tosh said, her eyes narrowed on Gwen for a fraction too long. Gwen pretended not to notice. “Well, sort of.”

“Game?” Josie perked up.

Jack laughed, “We were each talking about who we last kissed was.”

“Like kiss or make out?”

“Make out.”

Billie rolled her eyes, “I don’t even want to know what your answer was.”

Jack smiled charmingly at her, making her roll her eyes again. Gwen bit back a laugh. She had a feeling she was going to like Billie. However grudgingly.

“Oh, come on, Jeanie. I’m not that bad,” Jack continued to grin.

“Yes, Sparrow. You truly are.”

“Well,” Josie interrupted with a grin to match Jack’s. Actually it was almost creepy how identical their smiles were. “We all know who yours was Billie.”

“The Professor,” the brunette said without hesitating. “Of course.”

“So you two are still going strong then?” Jack’s smile turned more sincere, caring. It made Gwen’s heart melt. The man could be a bit of a playboy but there was no denying he had a heart of gold. “Good. You two are perfect for each other.”

“Not to mention the sexual tension was a bit too much,” Josie murmured a little too loud.

Billie scoffed, “We were not the ones with the sexual tension on the ship.”

Jack cut in, clearly trying to stop a bickering match, “What about you, Josie? Who was yours?”

Both new girls grinned widely.

“The prison guard on Nimbus IV,” Josie chuckled.

Jack raised an eyebrow, “Now that’s a story I’d like to hear.”

Billie shrugged, “Not really that exciting. The Professor and Doctor were off doing God-knows-what, so we had to get ourselves out. Josie distracted the guard while I lifted the keys off him. Then when he was gone we took the back way out. Not exciting at all compared to some of our other trips.”

Jack laughed out loud at that, throwing his head back and grabbing his stomach. None of the team had ever seen him like that before. So open and carefree. Gwen watched in fascination, the line of his neck, the bob of his Adam’s apple, the quirk of his lips, the merry twinkle in his eyes. She blinked and quickly averted her gaze. She was engaged, God dammit! She shouldn’t be staring at other men like that. Owen had been a mistake. She knew even as she was kissing him. But she had thought they were going to die, so she thought “what the hell?” But Jack was different. He had fascinated her since she first met him, drawing her in like a moth to a flame.

He slung an arm around the ginger’s shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head fondly. Gwen felt a spark of jealousy shoot through her, making her scowl down at the half eaten sandwich in her hands. She really needed to get over her little crush on Jack, even if it sometimes felt more real than what she felt for Rhys.

“Oh, you are definitely my sister,” Jack said, still chuckling.

Gwen’s head snapped up at that. Sister?

Billie snorted, “Tell me about it.”

“Wait, I’m sorry,” Owen stomped over from his tent which was now haphazardly standing. “Did you say sister?”

Jack blinked at him for a second, “Right. I never explained did I?”

“Nope,” Billie answered distractedly as she polished off a sandwich she had found in her things.

“Billie and Josie are my younger sisters,” Jack said with a shrug as if it were obvious.

“Anyway,” Billie said, throwing her garbage into the fire. “You said something about a case?”

The team was still a little too shell-shocked to answer so Jack leaned forward, handing a map to Billie, “Seventeen disappearances within the last five months. The last known whereabouts of each one is somewhere around here. All within a twenty mile radius. It’s all marked on the map.”

Billie took a moment to unfold the map and study it, “What do the police say?”

“The police are clueless.”

Josie scoffed, “No surprise there. Gramps always said humans refuse to believe what’s right in front of their faces.”

“Gramps?” Tosh fished for more information.

Gwen was glad. She would give anything for even a hint of who Jack was. The rest of the team felt the same of course, though for different reasons. Jack was so private, always refused to talk about himself. None of them knew anything. They hadn’t even known he had sisters. But part of Gwen just wanted to know for the sake of knowing. She wanted to know Jack on a personal level. And didn’t that just scare the shit out of her?

“My Grandfather is a General in UNIT,” Josie explained, leaning over her sister’s shoulder to look at the map.

Gwen’s eyes widened at that, “So that’s who your contact is on the inside?”

Jack smiled at her and turned back to Billie, “None of the bodies have ever been found. These people just fell off the radar. No patterns in age, sex, race. One minute, they’re here. The next, gone.”

“It could be the rift,” Tosh began. “We don’t know enough about it to be certain and it’s increasing in activity all the time.”

“It’s not the rift,” Josie and Billie said in tandem, voices bored.

“How do you know?” Owen asked suspiciously.

“The rift is only in Cardiff,” Billie continued, ignoring Owen. “Well, that rift anyways.”

“There are more?” Ianto’s voice shook slightly at the thought.

“Not on Earth, no,” Jack dismissed. He turned back to the case, “The most recent victim, Ellie Johnson, was making a phone call when she disappeared. Dropped out of signal mid-call somewhere about here.”

“We haven’t really started looking into it,” Gwen said. “We had just got here when you two showed up.”

“Do you have any idea what it could be?” Josie asked.

“I was about to ask you two the same thing,” Jack joked.

Billie shrugged as she began folding the map back up, “Nothing really comes to mind except human.”

“Excuse me?” Gwen asked, feeling a little offended.

“Humans are capable of some of the most heinous crimes in the universe,” Billie explained. “The worst part is, the crimes are usually unpredictable because they’re not based off what the race does, but what the individual does. We may very well be dealing with just an average serial killer.”

Jack sighed, “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

“No wait. That is not right,” Owen growled. “Don’t be sticking this on humans. We don’t do anything half as bad as some of those aliens.”

“Holocaust,” the three siblings echoed.

Owen stuttered, “Ok, well…yeah, that was bad, but…”

“Look, we don’t want to argue with you,” Billie shrugged. “Maybe it is an alien. But there is a possibility that it’s something much closer to home.”

“Well,” Josie blurted through the tension that was beginning to build. “I need to use the ladies room. Come on Billie.”

The brunette sighed, “Can’t you go on your own?”

“No. People are disappearing, the forest is creepy, and Jack won’t give me a gun.”

“Well when you put it like that.”

The two girls stomped off into the woods. Gwen watched until they had disappeared before turning to look expectantly at Jack. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to say something.

“Sisters?”

“What of them?”

“You never said you had sisters. Or a grandfather in UNIT, for that matter.”

“Technically he’s only Josie’s Grandfather and I’ve only known about my sisters since I came back from vacation. We all have different mothers.”

Gwen blinked at her leader. That was the first time he freely gave up that much information. Normally it took months of poking and prying to get even a tidbit from him. She opened her mouth to retort only to be cut off but a high pitched scream.

* * *

“Just pick a spot and go,” Billie barked, wrapping her arms around herself. It was colder away from the campfire and although her peacoat was nice it wasn’t really up for the task of keeping out the strong wind that had kicked up. She hoped Josie would finish her business quickly so they could go back.

“This is awkward,” Josie called from her place behind some trees.

“You’re pissing in the woods, of course it’s awkward,” Billie called back. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end, the feeling of being watched washing over her. Josie began to call back about something, only to be shushed by her sister. It wasn’t that Billie wanted to draw attention, more that she was certain they weren’t alone, just like she was certain it wasn’t anyone from Torchwood.

“Just pee,” she called, eyes scanning the area. “I want to head back.”

She could hear her sister grumble and ignored it. A shadow was beginning to shift in her periphery. Slowly she turned her head, only to see a black mass bolt away.

“Josie!” she shouted, even as she ran after the shadow. Seconds later, she got a bit turned around. Everything looked the same. There were rustles and twigs snapping. Birds cawed and flew from branch to branch, disorientating her until she lost whatever she had been following. Someone stomping through the undergrowth had her spinning around, jumping when she didn’t immediately recognize Josie.

“What happened?” Josie asked worriedly.

“There was someone here.”

Her eyes widened and her face drained of color, “You’re sure?”

Billie gave a stiff nod and moved off to where she thought the stranger had gone. She moved as quickly as she could through leaves and other forest debris, Josie tight on her heels. She froze when she saw it. A white sheet lay on the ground, covering something lumpy. It was dirty with large brownish-red stains all over. There was no denying what those stains were.

Josie sucked in a breath beside her, grabbing her arm in a death grip, “We should get Jack, or…or…We should really…”

Billie started inching forward, Josie trailing along with her. Some sort of morbid curiosity from years of time travel with the Time Lords had overtaken them and they were helpless to do anything but draw nearer to the white sheet. When they were a couple feet away, Billie crouched down and took hold of a nearby fallen branch, easing it under the sheet. She hesitated for half a second before flipping the sheet up and away. Josie screamed.


	21. Countrycide: The Empty Village

“Well, it’s not Ellie Johnson. That’s for sure,” Owen quipped from his place beside the hallowed out body. There was a nothing left but blood red bones. A carcass.

Josie huddled deeper into her windbreaker next to Gwen a little ways away. They were leaning against the tree together, neither willing to get any closer. Ianto was busy setting up the crime scene tape while Owen was examining the body with Jack, Tosh, and Billie all watching. She was starting to regret coming, if this sort of thing happened a lot. Though, going by Gwen’s reaction, Torchwood didn’t often deal with bodies that looked like that.

“This is a male,” Owen continued, completely unfazed. “Late forties, fifties. Wasn’t killed here. No blood splatter or signs of struggle. Must have been brought here after he died.”

“Why do that?” Gwen asked, the disgust clearly ringing in her tone. “It’s not like they tried to bury him here.”

“Maybe Josie and Billie disturbed them and they ran away,” Tosh speculated.

“Or maybe it’s a warning,” Ianto offered. “Whoever’s responsible marking out their territory.”

“Cause of death?” Jack asked Owen, crouching down to be on eye level with him.

“Impossible to say. Body’s been stripped of the flesh and bodily organs, so all that’s left is the carcass.”

Josie dry heaved slightly, turning to get away. Gwen followed to make sure she was alright. They didn’t go far, just enough to not see the body anymore. They could still hear the others talking amongst themselves.

“Could the Weevils have come out this far?” Tosh asked.

“No,” Jack shook his head. “Weevils don’t finish off their victims like this.”

The sound of a car starting cut through the air, making everyone freeze and turn towards the noise.

“Is that ours?” Billie asked nervously.

“Yeah,” Jack jumped from his position and ran off, everyone close behind.

They got to the edge of the woods in time to see someone driving the SUV around camp, knocking down their tents and destroying their set up around the fire before driving off. Not pausing, they continued forward, but were too late to catch it. Jack screamed out in anger as they stopped and huffed and puffed, trying to get their breaths back.

“Let’s see what we can salvage,” Billie sighed.

The team separated, picking up camp and setting aside all the things that weren’t completely destroyed. Josie plopped down next to the still burning fire to catch her breath as she sorted out the food situation. They didn’t have a whole lot left, but it would do for one night. She looked over to the edge of camp where Jack and Gwen had yet to return. They looked to be talking about something as they stared off after the SUV. Finally Jack spun around and marched back into camp, Gwen trotting after him.

“Who left the keys in the car?” he called angrily.

“Jack,” Gwen tried to placate him. She dropped her head when he swung his glare onto her.

“Who?”

“Jack,” Josie used a slightly stronger tone.

“Not now Josie,” he bit out.

“Jack,” Billie’s stern voice cut through the wind, sounding almost like a parent scolding a child. “That’s enough.”

“It was Owen,” Ianto informed everyone. “He was supposed to get the keys after locking up the car.”

Jack cursed under his breath, but didn’t yell like the team expected him too. Instead he stormed off, Billie following.

“Don’t worry,” Josie said, dusting herself off as she went to follow them. “We’ll get him to calm down. Just give us five minutes.”

* * *

Jack felt bad. He hadn’t meant to snap at his team, he was just so frustrated with everything. Owen especially could be very childish at times. It made him almost want to hop back on the TARDIS for another year or so, just to forget about all this. Doc and Teach were the best. They wouldn’t have forgotten the damned keys. Then again, as Josie had gleefully pointed out while his sisters were talking him down from his temper, both the Doctor and the Professor forgot where they parked on nearly a daily basis.

He sighed as he heard the team picking a bit on Owen. Everyone messed up occasionally, it was only natural. He should apologize to the medic after this was all over. After the team finished having their fun.

“All right,” Owen called as Gwen continued to pick at him. “I said I’m sorry!”

“Basic security protocols, Owen!” Tosh yelled from across what used to be camp.

“Oh, get off your high horse, Tosh! I was carrying that stupid gear.”

“What, the whole time?”

“Yeah, then I was trying to put that bloody tent up , and then…Well, yeah I sort of forgot that I’d left them in there. But I’m sorry. I’m human. I ballsed up.”

“Looks like that body wasn’t a warning,” Jack said calmly, bringing an end to the argument. “More of a decoy.”

“That would mean we’ve been watched since we’ve arrived,” Gwen muttered.

Billie groaned, “Including when the TARDIS dropped out of the sky. That’ll be fun to try to explain.”

“I’ll call Gramps later,” Josie shrugged. “He’ll cover it up if necessary.”

Jack nodded and turned to the Asian, “Tosh, can you get a tracking signal?”

“Already done,” Ianto called from a few feet away with a large smart phone in his hand. They all began to make their way to him as he continued, “I took the liberty. It’s currently 3.4 miles west from here.”

Owen scoffed, “Gunning at ninety, no doubt. You steal a piece of equipment like that, you drive straight on till morning.”

“Actually, no, it’s been stationary for the past four minutes. I’d go so far as to say it was parked.”

While they had talked, Billie had gotten the map out, “There’s a small village in that area. Other than that, nothing for thirty miles.”

“Call me suspicious, but this has all the hallmarks of a trap,” Tosh warned Jack who had a familiar glint to his eyes.

Josie couldn’t contain her sigh, “Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”

He grinned, “Anyone fancy a walk?” Both sisters groaned.

“You’ve been hanging out too much with the Doctor!” Josie called after him.

* * *

They had been walking over the countryside for about an hour when they finally stumbled onto a village. Ianto pulled out his phone again as they stopped on the top of a hill to look at the tiny collection of gray buildings. There couldn’t be more than a handful of homes in the valley they stood above. They were completely isolated.

“Why would anyone want to live out here?” Owen sneered.

“Has the SUV moved?” Jack turned to Ianto.

He looked at the phone and his watch, “Not for an hour now.”

Josie sighed as they began the trek down the hill. Down was definitely better than up, at least. She hated this. Hiking. Woods. Isolated valleys. No civilization whatsoever. If she ever doubted before, this lovely little trip proved that she was a city girl through and through.

The first building they came to was a long row house. Homes were connected to form one long building where multiple families could live. The whole place was eerily quiet, no lights shining, no children playing, no televisions or radios blaring. An old car sat abandoned outside one of the residences. Everything was still and silent. It reminded Josie of the set of a horror film. She shivered and moved closer to her brother who instinctively took her hand to comfort her as they approached.

“Tosh, Ianto,” Jack turned to face everyone, placing his back towards the building. “Follow the signal. Find the SUV. Take Josie with you.”

“What?” Josie’s voice raised an octave.

Jack’s lips twitched, “Unless you want to check out the inn with us.”

Josie turned to look at the inn, just realizing that it was an inn and not a row house. She allowed herself to feel like an idiot for a second before sighing, “Go into the creepy abandoned building or hunt up a fancy SUV? I’ll take the car, thanks.”

Billie chuckled, “Be careful. Keep your phone on, just in case.”

“Yes, mom,” Josie joked as she followed Tosh.

“I doubt you’ll get a signal this far out,” Tosh said as they trooped over a small stone wall into a grass field that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Josie pulled her superphone out and handed it to the Asian, “See for yourself.”

“What? But how is that possible?”

“It’s supercharged. Works anywhere and anywhen. A must-have for any self-respecting time traveler,” Josie joked, using her best salesperson voice.

“Time traveler?” Ianto asked curiously.

Josie grinned and nodded but didn’t comment further. She could feel their stares as they made their way across field after field until finally they got to a farm house. Josie turned to see the inn, looking smaller than a doll house from this distance.

“It’s just half a mile up here,” Ianto said pointing towards the house.

Tosh reached over and took the tracking device from him. Up close it looked less like a phone and more like some strange bit of technology that started out as a phone. From what she had heard from Jack while they were traveling, Tosh had probably made it herself with the help of some alien tech they sometimes stumbled across.

“At least we’ve still got this,” the tech expert said. “The rest of my stuff was in the vehicle.”

“That sucks,” Josie commented, skipping ahead to look through a window. It was too dark inside to see anything and all the other windows had heavy curtains covering them from the inside. “Nothing,” she shook her head, stepping back to look up at the house properly. Tosh kicked some things around in the yard, looking for clues as Ianto tried the door. Everything was locked up tight.

A screeching noise had them all turning to look out past the barn that stood, almost identical to the house, a couple feet away. They waited, ears straining, but it didn’t come again.

“What was that?” Josie asked nervously.

“Just a fox,” Ianto said uncertainly. “Or something.”

Josie mentally scoffed but kept silent, aware that both Torchwood agents were reaching for their guns. Not wanting to be completely weaponless, she began digging through her bigger on the inside pockets until her fingers brushed against the long metal device she was searching for. She secreted her sonic into her hand and brought it out, careful to keep it hidden up her sleeve. Now wasn’t the time to be answering Tosh’s tech questions about it.

“Check in the back?” Ianto obviously directed towards both women. It was also obviously not a question as he moved to secure the perimeter.

“Yeah,” Tosh answered faintly and nodded for Josie to follow her.

Tosh held her gun at her side as they moved around the side of the house slowly, careful to not make too much noise. The screeching sounded again, startling them both to a stop. They turned to see if they could glimpse whatever was making the noise, only to jump back around when a bird squawking startled them again.

“Dammit,” Josie cursed under her breath, pressing a hand to her heart. “I should’ve gone with the creepy inn.”

Tosh chuckled lightly but didn’t answer. She brought her gun up, ready to shoot as she inched forward toward the corner. Both women wrinkled their nose when the stumbled across some sort of dead bird, tied up by its legs hanging against the side of the house. There were more hanging in the tree behind the house as well as by the back door. Tosh tried to open the door, but it too was locked tight. She tried kicking it open a couple times, but despite it looking ready to fall apart at any second, the wooden door stayed firmly in place.

A person emerged from around the other corner of the house, jolting Tosh into action. Her gun was pointed at him before Josie could even think about ducking for cover. Jack had trained his agent well. They both breathed a sigh of relief when Ianto raised his hands in front of him in a placating gesture.

“Don’t do that,” Josie growled. “Jesus! I’m gonna have a heart attack with you people.”

Ianto’s lips twitched. He turned and headed out into the field behind the house, Tosh following at a more sedate pace. Josie hung back, trying to get her heart to stop trying to break through her rib cage. This was so much worse than working with the Doctor and the Professor. She never felt unsafe with them. She was always protected, like nothing could happen to her. Which was ridiculous, of course, considering how many times she and/or Billie got kidnapped or taken prisoner in a warzone. But she had always been sure everything would turn out alright in the end. Even with Jack being not-too-far away, she didn’t have that assurance here. She was starting to really regret agreeing to cover for Gwen during her honeymoon.

Suddenly something clamped over her mouth and nose. Her hands snapped up to claw at the back of the hand holding a scrap of fabric in place. Another arm wound its way around her waist, pulling her tight against a hard chest as she was dragged back around to the front of the house. She struggled for a moment before realizing she couldn’t get away from the much stronger man. She could feel her sonic held tightly in the cuff of her jacket, but that wouldn’t help her at the moment. It only worked on objects, not people after all. Finally she opened her mouth as best she could to scream, sucking in a lungful of air. She felt dizzy immediately. Something was on the rag covering her mouth that tasted sharp and bitter and stung the back of her throat. Her vision blurred and tunneled and her head felt like it weighed a ton. If only she had gone with Jack, was her final thought and then she knew no more.


	22. Countrycide: Blood on the Floor

Jack had caught his sister’s hand in his as they approached the inn, leading her ahead of the rest. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the others, but he felt better knowing Billie was close by. Sure, the little brunette had proven many times over that she was willing to do what was necessary to keep people safe, but what worried him was the fact that keeping people safe sometimes meant putting herself in danger. She and Josie were far too much like their Time Lords in some cases and he was determined not to let her get hurt on his watch. If the Professor didn’t kill him the guilt definitely would.

He paused outside the door to the bar to glance down at her. Her eyebrow rose in reply, completely understanding what was going through his head and clearly not liking it. He sighed and nodded, ignoring the bewildered look from Owen and the amused look from Gwen, and pushed into the bar.

They were all quiet as they looked around, feet shuffling along the floorboards. The place was dark and dingy and had clearly been abandoned for quite some time. Jack and Owen clicked on flashlights so they could see better, though it didn’t help much in the nearly tangible darkness that not even the little light streaming in through the windows could chase away. Jack felt Billie shiver and shuffle closer. He squeezed her hand in reassurance as he led her through to the back, Owen’s voice fading into the background as he made a bad joke to Gwen at the bar.

“Where is everybody?” Gwen asked, looking at the large wads of cash still inside the old-fashioned register.

Jack took one last look around, “Billie, stay with Owen. Gwen,” he nodded toward the stairs in the back that led to the bedrooms. The three Torchwood agents slipped guns out and Jack caught a flash of metal disappearing up Billie’s sleeve. He grinned as he kissed her head fondly. The Sonic Screwdriver wouldn’t be much help in a gun fight, but at least she had some sort of defense ready. Owen caught his eye as he moved to take Jack’s place beside his sister, silently promising to look out for her. Jack nodded briefly, gave his sister one last encouraging hug, and headed up the stairs, gun held at the ready and Gwen close at his heels.

The rooms turned out to be just as dark and abandoned as the bar had been, unsurprisingly, but they steadily made their way through each room, splitting up to cover more ground. Jack could hear Gwen’s slow footsteps down the hall, quiet and cautious. Part of him wanted to glue himself to her side, along with his sisters, just to make sure they were all safe. Logically, he knew they could all take care of himself. He had grown up in a century that had men and women truly as equals, instead of the “say it but don’t believe it” type of system the twentieth century seemed to favor. He knew these women better than almost anyone else. He knew none of them needed a constant bodyguard, would actually hate him for even thinking it. But he cared about them too much to risk them. Each woman had burrowed out a special place in his heart and made themselves at home. And he always protected the ones he loved. It was just instinct for him.

He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. Besides, it wouldn’t do to lump Gwen in a group with others he loved. She was about to be married, and he had no claim over her. He _had_ to let her go, let his feelings go, or they were bound to kill him one day soon.

Suddenly he heard Gwen start retching and coughing from a couple rooms away. He quickly spun, hurrying as quietly as he could back to where she was, and found her hunched over with her hands grasping the end of a table, a second away from throwing up.

“You okay?” he asked as casually as possible while his eyes searched what he could see of her face through her hair.

“In there,” she managed to choke out between heaves.

Jack moved around her, to the next room over and had to bit his tongue to stop himself from following in her footsteps. A body was laid out on the ground, ripped apart like a slaughtered pig and left to decay in a puddle of blood on the kitchen tiles. More footsteps sounded, followed by Owen’s voice.

“Burger coming back to haunt you?” he teased Gwen. Billie must have stopped next to Gwen as she asked if the other woman was alright, but Owen’s heavy trod came into the room behind him. Jack felt him stop at his shoulder and tense.

“Oh my God,” Owen muttered.

Jack was quickly distracted by a loud thud sounding from outside. He ran off, shouting for Gwen as he went. He knew she’d want to get away from the sight and smell of decaying flesh and he’d rather have Billie stay inside where it was safe. He should have known better however. His sister followed the other woman as they ran back down the stairs and out the door into the murky daylight, guns raised. Gwen was still retching occasionally, and Billie stayed close to his side, out of the line of fire as they scanned the area, not finding what- or whoever made the noise.

“Jack,” Gwen started, gasping for breath. “Jack, please. Please tell me what’s going on here.”

He eyed the next building over. There wasn’t much else they could do, and he really didn’t have an answer at the moment, “Let’s take a look in here. Come on.”

They hurried into the room, tense and ready for a fight. Jack constantly shifted, keeping his sister covered as much as possible as Gwen led the way. He had to forcibly not think about Josie and the others. Hopefully, their job had taken an easier path. He didn’t think he could handle both his sisters in the line of fire right now. Gwen paused, glancing down at her shoe as she stepped in what Jack recognized, even from a distance, as blood. Billie must have too, judging by her sharp intake of breath and her fist tightening on the back of his coat. She pressed her face against his back for a moment to compose herself, cursing him under her breath. A small smile twitched at his lips despite the situation.

Gwen froze at the entrance to the next room, blocking whatever she was staring at from his view.

“What is it?” he asked, shifting again to keep Billie out of sight.

Gwen moved back slowly until they were level, “There’s another body in there.”

“Great,” Billie muttered sarcastically behind them. “How did I see that coming?”

“Same as the other,” he sighed as he caught a glimpse.

“What did this, Jack?” Gwen asked shakily. “’Cause whatever it is, it can’t be human. How far is this going to spread?”

“Stay focused,” he ordered, glancing behind him to the door to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.

“I should be home,” she went on as though she hadn’t heard. “Having dinner with Rhys. What am I doing here with you?”

Billie winced at the comment, looking at her older brother for any sign that the remark had hurt him. He gave a weak smile and moved to the door. It did hurt, but he didn’t have the time to dwell on it. They had to check the rest of the buildings, regroup, and come up with a plan. They had to figure out just what the hell was going on here. He’d bury himself in pity when they were back at the hub.

“Don’t you ever get scared, Jack? Huh?”

Gwen’s question threw him for a moment. He stared at the dazed gaze of his teammate for a long moment. Billie came up beside him, squeezing his hand in comfort as she placed herself between him and Gwen, like she could somehow physically protect him from her words. He decided to just ignore her words. It was clear she was a little rattled by the situation. The whole thing was startling like a horror film and he couldn’t blame her for questioning her choices, of even him.

“There’s another two houses,” he said instead. “We’d better take a look.” He hurried out, Billie beside him, and didn’t wait for Gwen as they hurried to the next house. There probably wouldn’t be anything but another body in the next house, anyway. Gwen could take a moment to regroup while the siblings checked it out.

Jack pressed his back to the wall beside the door as Billie tried the door knob. It rattled but didn’t budge.

“Locked?” he asked.

“Locked. Luckily, I have this,” she grinned as her sonic slipped out from her sleeve and into her hands. He smiled back briefly, his eyes flicking over the countryside as the sonic buzz sounded in his ears. The lock clicked a moment later and Billie hummed happily, the handle turning easily under her hand. He turned to see her smiling at him, the door swinging open in front of her. He would never forget that smile. The happy grin of the triumphant before she was suddenly blasted back onto the ground, his ears ringing from the sound of the shot as blood began to pool beneath her.


	23. Countrycide: Finding the Truth

A God damned basement. Out of everything they could have been locked in, they were trapped in a basement. Josie huffed quietly to herself as she plopped ungracefully onto the dirt floor. It could have been worse, she supposed. It could have been the sewers. No matter how cold or damp it was in here, it still beat the sewers.

Beside her Tosh and Ianto began to stir. “Finally,” she muttered, leaning forward as she waited for her companions to wake up. She’d been waiting about a half hour for them to come round. The only reason she could think of for why she’d get up so much sooner than them was her Human Plus DNA. She just healed faster, certain things didn’t work appropriately. (It was a bitch when she had to find pain reliever during _that_ time of the month.) Apparently she could now add chloroform to the list of things that no longer affected her correctly. Good to know.

While she had waited for the others to come to, she’d done a little investigating. There were no windows or vents leading to the outside world, no way in or out but the main door, made of thick metal and locked from the outside. The walls were made of wood, but new enough that she couldn’t find a weak point to break through. There were boxes everywhere, chains clinked as they gently rocked from where they dangled down from the ceiling, and an old fridge chugged loudly in the corner. She hadn’t been able to work up the courage to peek in there. It didn’t matter. Once her brother’s teammates woke up, she was sonicing the door open and they were getting the heck out of dodge. And it was about freaking time they woke up. She was starting to go a little stir-crazy.

Ianto was the first to blink awake, eyes still glassy and unfocused as he pushed himself up. Josie slid across the floor until she was beside him, helping him lean back against an old apple crate. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask stupid unanswerable questions – like _where are we_? – but he did look her over from top to bottom after seeming to come more to himself.

Josie grinned. There was nothing sexual in his actions and it was obvious he was mostly worried about how Jack was going to react later, so she just couldn’t help but tease, “Like what you see?”

A light blush painted his cheeks despite the situation and he quickly shuffled further away from her, pushing himself onto the crate so she was sitting below him. In a less dire situation, she might have laughed. Instead, she patted his knee comfortingly and assured him she was fine. He nodded, glancing around for some sort of weapon as whoever had taken them had removed all of their weapons. They left the sonic though, clearly not recognizing it as a theat. Not that they should. It was a screwdriver, after all, not a weapon.

Ianto finally located a meat hook near his crate. Josie determinedly ignored all the chains and hooks hanging around like something out of a horror film. She didn’t want to think about that. Thinking about it made it that much more real. Instead, she scooted further across the room on her butt until she was by Tosh. Her eyelids were flickering and small groaning sounds escaped her throat. Josie nodded to herself, “She should wake up soon.”

Ianto made an acknowledging noise before shifting, keeping the door in his line of sight. A few minutes later Tosh was pushing herself up, completely alert. How she could wake up without feeling groggy was beyond Josie’s understanding. Not even she could do that.

“You know,” Ianto suddenly said absently, hands curled around the hooks as he glanced over at his teammate and friend, “I never liked camping.”

Josie snorted but didn’t comment. Standing to give Tosh more room, she brushed the dirt off her butt and moved to the far wall, leaning against it almost casually. The tense line of her body and her clenched fists the only indication of stress.

Tosh stumbled to her feet, reaching for the gun normally concealed at her ankle.

“Don’t bother,” Josie shook her head. “They took the guns.”

The Asian found her flashlight and shined it around the room, the light glinting off the chains and revealing a rat scurrying to hide from the sudden illumination, “Charming place they’ve got.”

“I hate basements,” Josie muttered, eyes tracking the rat’s movement. “Almost as bad as sewers.”

Ianto ignored her, “Judging by the sound reverberations and the air quality, pretty deep underground.”

Josie rolled her eyes at that completely unnecessary comment but stayed quiet in her corner, distracted with trying to locate where the vermin had run off to. She didn’t want that thing coming anywhere near her.

“Chances of rescue?” Ianto continued.

Before Josie could answer, could move to get them out, Tosh talked over him, “We won’t need rescuing. Haven’t met a cell yet I couldn’t get out of.”

Josie blinked at the Asian, filing away the new information for later. She really needed to find out her brother’s teams backgrounds. They seemed far more complex and interesting than she had assumed.

“What were they?” Ianto’s voice shook slightly.

Tosh glanced at Josie, who shrugged, before answering, “Don’t know. It happened too quickly. You worried?” Again her eyes flickered to the silent redhead.

“A little,” Ianto admitted.

Josie had enough, she pushed away from the wall and stalked across the room, patting the man’s shoulder as she passed, “Time to go.”

“What?” he asked, stumbling to his feet. “You have a way out.”

She jerked her head in a nod, “I was just waiting for you two to wake up.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” he continued in a slightly panicked voice.

She spun, making him stumble back so as not to run into her. She narrowed her eyes up at him, undaunted by how much he towered over her, “I was making sure you were both alert enough to fight, or better yet run. Don’t you dare think I was dawdling just for shits and giggles.”

“What’s that?” Tosh’s voice broke their impending argument.

The redhead strode away, needing to be distracted to regain her composure. It wasn’t often that she snapped like that and her only excuse was the incredibly high amounts of stress and fear they were currently experiencing. She felt a little bad. Obviously Ianto wasn’t used to field work and she yelled at him for simply being scared just like the rest of them. She sighed as she approached the Asian. She’d have to apologize when this was all over.

“What did you find?” she asked, still a little too harshly. She’d apologize to Tosh too.

Tosh knelt down, flashlight trained down on something as she cautiously lifted it, “It’s just a shoe. Wait. There’s another.” The light moved up until they came across different sized boxes lining the wall and acting as shelves for dozens upon dozens of shoes of all shapes and sizes. “There’s dozens of them.”

“Oh, my God,” Ianto murmured.”

“What the hell…” Josie stepped forward, spying a humongous pile of ratty and dirty clothes shoved into the corner near the shoes.

“How many people have been down here?” Tosh sidestepped, moving closer to the fridge.

“And what happened to them?” Ianto added.

The fridge finally caught Tosh’s eye, “Is that a fridge?”

Dread curled in the pit of Josie’s stomach. She was positive she didn’t want to know what was in there. But before she could voice her opinion, Tosh had reached out and swung the door open. Josie gagged and spun away at the sight, only half listening to the other two talk.

The sound of the door slamming was followed by Ianto asking, “Tosh, what is it? What’s in there?”

There was a short scuffle as Ianto demanded an answer and Tosh begged him not to looks before the door squeaked open again. Silence prevailed for half a heartbeat before Tosh spoke oddly calmly, “That’s why there was nothing left on the body. They need to eat. We’re food.”

The fridge slammed closed and Ianto turned toward the redhead, “You said you had a way out.”

She nodded firmly, set her jaw, and strode back to the door. Her sonic was in her hand the second she was at the door, the purple tip lighting up as she fiddled with the settings, trying to find which one would unlock the door.

“What is that?” Tosh asked curiously from beside her.

“Sonic Screwdriver.”

Before more could be said, Josie froze. The shuffling noise outside the door was faint but otherwise obvious. The two women made wide-eyed contact for a single second as they spun away, pressing against the wall on either side. Ianto seemed to understand, ducking back into the shadows himself before the snap of the lock sliding back echoed throughout the room and the door slowly creaked open. From her place behind it Josie could see the barrel of a shot gun poking into the room. Her brow furrowed in slight confusion. Aliens weren’t always opposed to guns, but it was rare to come across one who preferred human made ones. Usually they toted around guns from their home planet, bigger and badder than anything Earth could manufacture.

Ianto jumped out, grabbing hold of the gun with one hand while his other arm wound around the person’s body, attempting to wrestle the weapon away. Tosh grabbed the meat hook Ianto had earlier and held it out as she moved into a fighting position. Josie stayed back, taking in the situation, eyeing the heavy blonde woman holding the gun with a calculating gaze.

“Get off!” Blondie shouted, elbowing Ianto and pushing him to the ground while he was winded. “Look at me, you idiot! I’m not gonna hurt you!”

Her voice was slightly panicked, out of breath, but Josie still had the urge to scoff. Something about this situation didn’t feel right with her. And her instincts were never wrong. It came with her visions. She just _knew_.

“You’ve got a gun.” Tosh pointed out and Josie mentally cheered her on. Tosh was smart. Paranoia may be unnecessary for normal people with normal lives, but for them it was a way to stay alive.

“I promise! I promise!” Blondie repeated, holding up her free hand in surrender while she carefully kept the gun pointing to the ceiling. Tosh’s eyes glanced to Josie and the redhead shook her head minutely, signaling to not trust the woman.

“Okay.” Tosh said before turning back to the woman. “Okay. Give her some space.” The Torchwood agents moved back a step while Josie slid closer, unnoticed by the woman. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do. She only knew basic self-defense from the handful of lessons Jack and the Professor gave her. But she’d do what she’d have to to get out.

“Thank you,” Blondie muttered, a glint in her eye that had Tosh’s eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Were you injured when they took you? Can I see? I’m a nurse.” She moved toward Ianto to inspect a cut near his right eye that Josie had somehow missed, leaving the door wide open. The redhead too the opportunity to slip out, carefully looking around for cameras, other people, their captors, anything that could equal her death, before peering back into the room.

Ianto hissed and yanked his head back before the woman could touch him. Blondie back off a step, turning toward Tosh who moved away before she could come close.

“Oaky,” Blondie said, attempting to sound reassuring. “Okay. Does anyone else know you’re here? Have you managed to call for help?”

Tosh was the one to answer, a little harshly, “We don’t need any help. There’s three more of us in the village.” _Hopefully_ , Josie added mentally. They really couldn’t be sure what was happening with the others right now.

Blondie let out a stuttering breath, like she was trying not to cry as she began backing away, “I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?” Ianto muttered.

“I’ve been sent to collect you. I’ve got to take you to them.”

“Tell us what’s going on.” Tosh said softly, trying to sooth answers out of the woman. “We can help.”

The woman chuckled weakly, “No one’s safe. Every ten years, is takes us again.”

“What takes you?” she demanded. “What is it?”

“The Harvest.”

“Well, that sounds ominous,” a new voice from directly behind her made Josie jump. She spun around, wide-eyed and grinning.

“Doctor!” Her arms flung themselves around his waist, gripping him in a tight hug as her body sagged in relief.

“Josie!” he mocked, hugging her just as tightly if briefly. Then he turned to Blondie, lips stretched tight in a predatory grin, “And here I thought you were on vacation.”

“I would have been if you had better driving skills,” she teased automatically, grinning at Blondie’s dropped jaw.

The Doctor pouted theatrically and took a step forward, only to freeze as the shot gun was swung in his direction. He raised both hands, showing he was unarmed, “Oh, come now, no need for that! I was just curious. Just passing through you know, heard about this Harvest and thought it sounded like a lovely good time. Just the sort of thing I enjoy! So tell me…eh, what was your name?”

Blondie stayed stock still, her jaw had clenched halfway through the Doctor’s rambling and her eyes were like ice.

“No? No name? Well that’s hardly polite! Not even telling your guests your own name.”

“You are not a guest!” she growled, baring her teeth like a wild animal.

His expression slid from playful to deadly instantly, “No, but this is your home, isn’t it?”

She was shaking slightly from rage, “Who. Are. You.”

“I’m the Doctor.” He said seriously, stepping forward like there wasn’t a gun pointed at him and forcing the woman to stumble backward. “I’m here to stop whatever is happening. And you’re going to tell me. Right. Now.”

A manic laugh slipped passed Blondie’s lips, “You can’t stop it. No one can.”

“Ooooh,” Josie shook her head, “You really shouldn’t dare him like that.”

Blondie sneered at the pair of them, not noticing Tosh and Ianto inching their way closer to the door until they stood beside the redhead. Once they were safely outside the confines of the room, the Doctor continued, “There’s no they. There’s no it. There’s only you and your family. Isn’t that right?” He paused but the woman didn’t answer, continued to simply glare at him, gun raised. “You…you kill anyone you find. Once every ten years. Like a ritual. You kill them and you eat them. Why?”

The woman just grinned toothily, laughing.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” quickly, he slid out of the room, slamming the door closed and using his sonic to seal it closed in one swift movement. Playfully he twirled the sonic in his hand, blowing on the tip like it was a smoking gun before jamming it back in his pocket. Josie shook her head with a grin when he held his hand out, wiggling his fingers until she grasped them. He tugged her away from the sound of the woman screeching, slamming against the door. Tosh and Ianto following close behind.

“What about the others?” Tosh asked, “You mentioned her family.”

“Jack, Gwen, and the Professor are taking care of that.”

“And Owen?” Tosh asked worriedly.

The Doctor grinned cheekily, “Watching Billie.”

Josie’s brow furrowed, “Why would he have to watch Billie?”

He glanced down at her, squeezing her hand in comfort, “She’s fine. Just a little hurt. That’s how we knew to come. She used their link to call the Professor. The police should be here by now to take care of the clean-up and we’ll all head off in the TARDIS. We’ll drop everyone back in Cardiff.”

Josie paused in thought. She was worried about Billie, but trusted that the Doctor wouldn’t lie about something like this. She’d see her soon so there was no point in worrying just yet. There was one thing she needed to clarify, “But the Professor is going to be driving right?”

Her only answer was a glare.


	24. Countrycide: The Calvary

Billie didn’t scream, didn’t make any painful noises, and that was almost worse to Jack. The wide-eyed stunned expression on his sister’s face ate at him as he hovered over her, trying to get her to look at him, to _see_ him. But her eyes didn’t focus on anything, staring off into the space behind his head. He even tried to prod at her mental shields, but he wasn’t a telepath and she didn’t even notice.

Finally he had to rip himself away from her before the tears stinging his eyes started blinding him. Rage flared through him for the person who shot his sister. He turned on his heel, gun raised and stormed past the swinging door. A young man, probably not much younger than Josie, was crouched on the stairs, a shotgun poised in his shaking hands still pointed at the door.

“Put the gun down on the floor!” he shouted, not having the patience to be gentle with the clearly terrified boy. Back outside he could hear Billie finally snapping out of her shock, small cries of pain mixed in with coughs. “Put the gun down on the floor!”

The boy was visibly holding back sobs as the gun dropped to the ground, “Look, I thought you were them! I thought you’d come back for me!”

“Thought who’d come back for you? Who?” Jack snapped, knowing despite the urgency to tend to his sister that this was an opportunity to find out what was really going on. He could hear Gwen finally catching up, talking to Billie, trying to calm the injured woman.

“Gwen!” Owen’s shout brought Jack back from glaring at hole into the boy’s skull. “Gwen, what’s happened?” When the female agent didn’t answer, Jack slipped back out the door, bringing Owen’s attention to him, “What happened?”

Jack gently pushed Gwen aside so he could kneel by his sister. “The kid hit her with a shotgun,” he hissed out angrily. Billie now had tears on her face, though she was once more eerily calm, her eyes glazed over. He let out a slow breath of relief, recognizing that look from all the times she spoke to the Professor telepathically. He slid his arms under her gently and lifted her to his chest, motioning Owen and Gwen to move ahead of them into the house. They’d have to hold up here until the Professor came. Owen could look at the wound and clean while he and Gwen kept an eye out for the Time Lord.

The movement seemed to startle Billie out of her trance. She gasped lightly and her hands fisted into his coat, “Hurts.”

“I know, Jeanie. I know. We’ll take care of it, okay. You just rest.”

She whimpered, holding on to him tighter as he moved through the house to the small dining room. Gwen and Owen pushed everything off the table and laid down a pillow for her head.

“Gwen check upstairs!” he shouted, staying beside his sister as Owen began rooting around in his bag. Billie hissed in pain with every small movement, her eyes flickering in and out of focus as she stayed linked with the Professor. When Owen went to touch the wound in her side, she tried to roll away, crying out for them to stop.

“No, please!”

Jack teared up at the sight of his sister in so much distress, but he still helped Owen by holding her down, whispering soothing nonsense that didn’t seem to help in the slightest.

“Listen!” Owen said in the calmest doctor voice Jack had ever heard him use when she continued to struggle, “Listen, I’m gonna have a look at your wound now, okay? Just keep calm.” He tried to peel her hand off where she was continuing to put pressure on the wound, but she fought him. “Hands off.”

“No, don’t, please.”

“Billie,” Jack finally cut in, holding her face in his hands to keep her eyes on him. When she was actually focused on what was in front of her, anyway. “It’s okay, I promise. Everything will be fine, but you need to let Owen look at your wound.”

She shook her head as best she could, squirming when Owen reached for her again, “No, please. Professor.” The last word was whispered, almost like a prayer.

A second later there was a loud pounding at the door. Gwen came thumping back down the stairs at the sound, eyes wide with shock. Everyone froze, but judging by the fact that Billie was finally still, slumped onto the table like all the fight had been drained out of her, Jack could guess who it was.

The pounding sounded again, making the boy jump when a very recognizable Northern accent shouted through the door, “Harkness! Open this door before I break it down!”

Jack let out a sigh of relief, motioning for Gwen to step back as he moved to the door and yanked it open without preamble. The Professor stormed in, eyes zeroed in on where Billie lay, not even sparing a glance for anyone else. He roughly shunted Owen aside and bent to press a kiss to Billie’s head. They exchanged a few whispered words before the Professor turned to peeling back her soiled clothes and inspecting the wound.

Jack turned to the door as another figure stepped in. The Doctor frowned at him, “We can’t even leave them with you for a few hours before something like this happens.”

“This is not my fault,” Jack said firmly, glaring at the boy as he cowered in the corner of the living room.

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed briefly on him before scanning the rest of the house, “Where’s Josie?”

Jack blanched slightly, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, “About that…”

Fury and annoyance seemed the predominant emotions dancing across the Time Lord’s face, “They are never visiting unsupervised ever again.”

He marched across the room to where the Professor was helping a sleepy-eyed Billie to sit up at the edge of the table. Her head lolled onto his shoulder as he slipped an arm around her waist and turned to talk quietly to his brother. Owen slipped around the trio and joined Jack and Gwen near the front door.

“He just…That was…”

“Alien technology healing my sister almost instantly?”

“Yeah…”

Jack hummed, amused by Owen’s amazed expressing, but still worried about what was happening. In all honesty, this case seemed rather low on the danger meter compared to some of the adventures the Time Lords ran into, but none of those had ended up with one of his sisters shot. At least none that he could remember. The Time Lords were always careful of keeping the girls out of the line of fire. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Doctor followed through with his threat of not letting them visit unsupervised. Though, knowing his sisters, they probably wouldn’t put up with that for long.

“Jack,” Gwen’s quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Are they staying? Will they help us?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack snorted. “I doubt they’ll be leaving anytime soon, now that I managed to almost get one sister killed and loose the other.” He ran a hand down his face in exhaustion. He was a terrible brother. Officially.

Gwen placed a comforting hand on his arm, squeezing lightly, “You couldn’t have known. Couldn’t have done anything different.”

He just nodded, not knowing what to say to that and infinitely glad Owen had decided to keep his trap shut at the moment. He turned to look at the boy still hiding in the corner and stepped forward. The easiest way to right his wrong, to get Josie back, was to find out exactly what was happening.

“Tell us what happened here,” Jack said as calmly as possible, not wanting to spook the boy any more than necessary.

“It’s not human,” he burst out, the fear getting the best of him again. “Look, my mum won’t know what’s happened. They’re expecting me back for the weekend.”

“Look, well get you home, okay?”

“What are you gonna do? You can’t fight them. They’re too strong. The only thing we can do is barricade the door.” He jumped up to do just that and Jack grabbed him none-too-gently and shoved back down onto his seat.

“That’s not entirely true,” the Doctor came up behind Jack, looking down at the boy with a pitiless expression. “And they are, actually, human.”

“What?” Gwen’s whispered sounded so dismayed Jack felt an ache to go to her and try to comfort her.

“They’re human,” the Professor drawled, entering the living room while carrying a sleeping Billie bridal style. He placed her gently down on the sofa, taking a discarded throw blanket and covering her with it. She mumbled in her sleep and nuzzled further into the cushions. “We scanned the area when we came back. No aliens for miles.”

“That…That’s not possible.” Gwen shook her head in disbelief.

The Professor raised an eyebrow, “Not possible for humans to commit murder, or turn cannibalistic. I believe your history would beg to differ.”

Gwen blanched at the thought and sank to sit on the stairs with a gasp. Clearly she hadn’t believed that humans could be worse than the aliens they usually hunted. But Jack knew. Every race had their own psychos and criminals, murderers and rapists. He had thought she would understand, having once been a police officer herself. But he also knew it was easier to have and “us/them” mentality, if only to keep your own sanity. Hopefully, there’d be time later to really sit down and discuss it with her, to help her cope with what’s happened. But for now there were more pressing matters.

“We called Alistair on our way,” the Doctor informed him. “He won’t be happy if he shows up to find one granddaughter missing and the other shot.”

Jack sighed, “Let’s just end this.”

“I’ll go look for Josie and the others, you all find whoever’s doing this.”

The Professor pointed at Owen, making the medic jump slightly in alarm, “You. You’re a doctor, right?”

“Yes.”

“Stay here with Billie. If she wakes up in pain, give her one of these,” he tossed Owen a small pill bottle with little purple and green pills inside. “Just one, mind. No more.”

Owen nodded in understanding and moved to sit in the chair between Billie and the boy. Jack didn’t bother to tell the boy to stay put. It was clear he wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon.


	25. Interlude: Circular Paradox

Though they weren’t exactly a traditional family, and none of them celebrated American holidays, Josie had gotten it set in her mind that they should have Thanksgiving dinner together in November. She had even convinced the Doctor an Professor to come. Her grandfather and Billie’s Aunt Sarah and cousin Luke came as well, all looking completely amused at the girl’s hyperactivity.

Josie wasn’t actually that great of a cook however (she was known to burn water on several occasions) so all of the cooking being done in the Hub’s tiny kitchen was Billie’s territory, with the help of Sarah Jane and Gwen. Ianto turned out to be a lot of help as well. Turns out he can do more than brew a fantastic cup of coffee.

Jack had been all smiles in the morning as he began setting up the various plastic folding tables for everyone to fit. Josie had been teasing him, feet kicked up on his desk as she watched, refusing to do anything as she had been the one to convince them all to do this in the first place and that was clearly enough work for an army. Jack’s laugh cut short when Billie emerged from the TARDIS (it was parked in the corner of the Hub where it wouldn’t get in the way) with the Professor, carrying bags of groceries. She was wearing her deceased brother’s AC/DC sweater and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. The converse the Doctor had given her for her birthday weren’t tied, the laces tripping her every couple steps, much to the amusement of the Professor. Jack’s smile had turned soft at the sight but his eyes were wide with shock and understanding.

“Sparrow? What’s wrong?” Josie nudged him slightly with her bare foot where he had leaned against the desk with a sigh.

“Nothing. Everything’s perfect, Josie. Don’t worry.” His eyes trailed over his team and family buzzing around busily. “I just have something I need to do before tonight.”

“Okay,” Josie drawled out, dropping her feet to the ground and bouncing up out of the seat. “Well I’m going to see if anyone needs help.” She pressed a kiss to Jack’s cheek as she passed him. Whatever had come over him was clearly none of her business and she was in too good a mood to pry. Maybe after dinner.

* * *

Jack managed to corner the Professor a little while later in the kitchen. The alien was sitting at the tiny breakfast table in the corner, watching the women and Ianto flit about the kitchen in synchronized movements. If he didn’t know better, he’d say those four had been doing this every year together for most of their lives, instead of them only having met a few weeks ago (Sarah Jane a few hours ago).

The human sank down in the chair across from the Time Lord, “Professor.”

The alien turned his attention reluctantly from the brunette in front of him.

“Do you happen to remember that conversation we had when I first came on the ship after meeting Billie and Josie?”

The Professor blinked twice as understanding flooded his features, “Now?”

Jack looked back over to his sister, seeing her exactly as he remembered first meeting her, even with the fond look in her eyes anytime her gaze landed on him. She gave him a grin when she caught him staring and stuck her tongue out, probably thinking he was going to tease her for her cooking abilities. Domestic still wasn’t a word that went down well in the TARDIS, even if it was one of the most homey feeling places Jack had ever stepped foot in. He constantly was calling Billie and the Professor “mom” and “dad” since they got together.

“Now,” he agreed when Billie was distracted by her aunt once again.

The Professor nodded and stood, easily slipping an arm around Billie’s waist and drawing her away from the kitchen while explaining about circular paradoxes in a whisper. Jack stood to watch them enter the TARDIS, Billie looking up briefly to shoot him a small reassuring smile. She’d keep their timelines intact. She didn’t want their relationship to change any more than he did.


	26. The Runaway Bride: Something Old

It wasn't that she wasn't happy or excited. Except that, she really wasn't. But she should be? Right? It was her wedding day. She shouldn't be having doubts or feeling like this was the worst mistake of her life. She shouldn't be expecting to see a man she knew wouldn't be there waiting at the end of the aisle.

She loved Rhys. Truly, she did. He had been with her through so much and had stuck around. She was amazed he put up with so much. But it just hasn't been the same. Not for months, if she were being honest. They hardly spoke to one another, not like they used to. It seemed liked everything always ended in an argument nowadays. And then he would walk out, leave for a few hours to cool down without even telling her where he was going. She assumed he went to his mate's house, or perhaps his mum's, but he never told her and she never asked. Part of really didn't want to know. Especially on the nights he came home smelling more like booze than anything else.

But she loved him. She did. She wouldn't have stayed with him for all these years if she didn't. And that was why she was marrying him. She loved him and he loved her and there would never be another man who cared for her like Rhys. (She studiously ignored the image of dazzling blue eyes, perfect dark hair, and flirtatious smirk that flitted through her mind as she gently applied a light layer of foundation on her face.)

The woman in the mirror blinked back at her as if in a daze - as if she didn't know what she was doing there. Gwen frowned at herself. That was no way for a bride to look. She forced herself to smile and winced when it looked more like a grimace. She sighed. When exactly did she start preferring an alien invasion to marrying her long time fiancé?

A sharp rap on the door of her dressing room had her jolting in surprise. She took a deep calming breath before she continued applying her make-up, “Come in!”

Three heads popped in stacked atop one another like in some sort of cartoon, making her chuckle lightly. No one could ever doubt those three were siblings. Jack grinned at her amusement and her breath hitched at the sight. She had to forcibly turn her eyes away, instead concentrating on finding the right shade of eye shadow. She couldn’t be having those thoughts, those feelings, today of all days. It was bad when her heart would stutter and butterflies would flutter in her stomach when Jack would grin at her from across the hub, or when he would shield her with his body from whatever alien was attacking, or when he helped her in the firing range with his front pressed to her back and his hand guiding hers. She shook her head slightly to dislodge the thoughts. She really, really, _really_ shouldn’t be thinking like that.

The light clicks of heels on the church’s scuffed hardwood floors alerted her to the women’s approach a few seconds before Billie and Josie moved to lean on her vanity on either side of her. She glanced up at the women who had quickly became her friends. Josie’s hair was curled and pinned, half of her locks still spilling down her back. Her form-fitted green dress was elegant without being extravagant. Same with Billie’s TARDIS blue dress, though hers had more of a flared skirt and more of a fifties style. Her own brown locks were twisted back into a chignon. They both wore minimal make-up and low heels. Their appearance would blend in easily with any of the other guests. No one would know they were there partly as guards in case anything extraterrestrial happened.

“What’s with the face?” Josie asked, only a small hint of teasing in her voice.

“What?” Gwen smiled slightly. “What do you mean?”

“You look like we’re about to send you off to be tortured.”

She sighed and shook her head, but didn’t reply. Her stomach had begun to twist into knots at the thought of torture. More to point on the thought that torture may just be preferable.

“Nervous?” Billie guessed.

Gwen glanced up at her before looking back into the mirror, her eye catching sight of Jack leaning against the far wall behind her. His eyes stayed locked onto her face, an unreadable expression looking back at her. She looked down, feeling guilty but not understanding how it wasn’t for betraying Rhys with thoughts of Jack. If anything it was the opposite. What was wrong with her?

“Yeah. Nervous,” she answered quietly.

They were all quiet for a long minute before Billie shifted slightly, “Hey Sparrow, give us a mo’?”

“Sure,” Jack pushed off the wall, coming over to stand behind her. Gwen didn’t look up as she felt him lean over her from behind and his lips pressed to the top of her head briefly, “You look beautiful.”

Gwen felt choked up; even if she knew what to say she wouldn’t be able to say it. The door closed with a quiet click behind him and Billie shifted again, crouching down so she could look into the mirror with Gwen. They stared at each other for a long moment.

“You alright?” Billie asked gently.

“Yes, of course. I…” she trailed off as Josie pressed her hand on her shoulder, giving Gwen a disbelieving look.

Gwen looked from one sister to the next, trying to come up with a way to answer. Maybe should just tell them the truth. From the looks on their faces, they’d already guessed it. She shook her head yet again. It didn’t matter. She’d made her choice and she was going to stand by it. She said as much to the two women still staring at her. The sisters shared a loaded glance before they seemed to sigh in unison.

“Alright,” Billie nodded in agreement, gently pushing back up to her feet. “Do you need any help getting ready?”

Gwen smiled, grateful for the change in topic, “Nah. I’m almost done. I just need…wait…where’s…Oh my God! Oh my _God_! Nonononono! No! This can’t be happening.” The bride frantically began shoving everything off her vanity table in her search. Was this some sort of sign? Was her Gran trying to tell her something from beyond the grave? But that was just ridiculous. Then again…Torchwood.

“Gwen,” Josie tightly gripped her wrists, yanking her away from the table and turning her to face the redhead. “Calm down. What’s wrong?”

“My Grandmother’s necklace. It’s a family heirloom. She gave it to me just before she died and told me it was for my wedding day.”

“Okay,” Billie came up beside them and squeezed her hand comfortingly. “It’s clearly not here. Where did you last have it?”

Gwen mentally traced her steps for the past few days, “It’s…My flat. I had it at the flat.”

“Okay, give me your keys. Josie and I will run to your flat and get it. We’ll be back with plenty of time before the ceremony starts.”

Digging the keys out of the purse dumped on a side table, Gwen took a deep breath, “Just…don’t tell anyone, alright? I don’t want to make a big deal out of…” she trailed off as Josie swooped in to give her a hug, squeezing her tightly around her waist.

“It’ll be okay. Everything will work out for the best, I promise.”

* * *

The flat was a lot neater than Josie had first imagined. Not the Gwen came off as a slob, quite the contrary. Her work area was always neat and tidy, everything organized and kept mostly dust free. Her fiancé though, was a whole other story. She honestly didn’t see what her friend saw in that man. But hey, they say love is blind for a reason.

“I’ll check out here, you check the bedroom,” Billie told her, moving off to check the small “office” area of the living room where a desk was shoved out of the way in the corner with an old computer.

Josie smirked, “You just don’t like snooping in people’s bedroom.”

“I wouldn’t like someone else doing that to me,” Billie shrugged.

The redhead shook her head at that logic. In all their time traveling, in all their time doing various slightly-to-very-illegal actions, snooping through someone’s bedroom was where Billie drew the line? Little weirdo.

Josie moved off to the bedroom, unsurprised to find the room was messier than the more common areas, but still tidy enough to be considered decent. She carefully stepped over the few pieces of laundry scattered on the ground to the dresser. The necklace was old, valuable, and an old family heirloom. No one would just leave that lying around. If it were her, she’d hide it in her underwear drawer. Or something like that. So she began there, pulling out the top drawer in the dresser and digging through the contents.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust when she managed to find the drawer with Rhys’s underthings. She really didn’t want to touch those, but she also wanted to be thorough. The necklace was obviously very important to Gwen and she deserved everything that would make her happy today, even if Josie and Billie had agreed the whole wedding was a mistake. It hadn’t taken long at all for the sisters to see that Gwen was seriously falling for their brother. The simple fact that they _knew_ Jack felt the same made them want to play matchmaker, just the one time. But their hands were tied. Gwen was determined not to break up with Rhys, even if their relationship wasn’t what it once was. And Jack was many things – a home-wrecker he was not.

Something hard and metal hit her hand as she dug. Carefully she gripped a long, thick metal case and pulled it out of the drawer, setting it down on a clear space on top the dresser. It didn’t seem like any type of jewelry box she’d ever seen, but maybe it was some sort of safe or something. She shrugged. Better to check just in case.

Naturally it was locked, but her sonic screwdriver got past it easily. Her brow furrowed as she flipped open the lid and found, not the old lady’s necklace, but several long test tubes with cork stoppers filled with a clear liquid that could pass as water if it weren’t for the slight heat emitting from the glass tubes. Over half of them were already empty, one only half full.

Curious, Josie gently lifted a full tube and held it up to the light. It almost seemed to reflect the light oddly, like a mirror, and was almost too hot in her hand. Taking up her sonic in her other hand. She fiddled with the settings, using several as she tried to figure out what exactly she held. It definitely wasn’t human, that was for sure. So what was it doing here? And in Rhys’s drawer of all places. But she wasn’t very good at the science-y stuff that came with traveling with the Time Lords and she eventually had to call for her more academically inclined sister.

“Did you find it?” Billie called, her voice drawing near as she came down the short hall.

“I found something alright. Not a necklace though.”

Billie was frowning when she stepped into the room, “Please tell me you’re not snooping through their private things. Josie you’re supposed to be looking for the necklace, nothing more.”

She waved away her sister’s concern, “I know, just come here. I can’t figure out what this is. It doesn’t seem human.”

Billie sighed in exasperation before taking the test tube. She blinked at it in shock, “Huh.”

“Told you.”

“Let me just,” from the pocket hidden in the folds of her dress, Billie pulled out her own sonic, fiddled with the settings for a moment before turning it on. Nothing happened until suddenly all the remaining test tubes began to glow golden. Billie’s eyes widened comically and she gasped, the tube slipping from her fingers and falling onto the soft carpet at their feet.


	27. The Runaway Bride: Something New

A lot of strange things have happened to her since joining Torchwood, but this one certainly took the cake. One minute she’s pacing the small room she’d been in to get ready for her wedding and the next she’s in the one place she never expected to be. The TARDIS. She’d only briefly seen the inside during the whole Harkness Thanksgiving Celebration, but it was unmistakable. It helped that the Doctor was sitting against the console gaping at her.

“What?” he gasped.

“Doctor?” she asked hesitantly, unsure what was going on. She felt her body shaking slightly.

He looked at the console in confusion, “But…”

“What’s happening?”

“What?”

“Doctor!” she shouted to get his attention. His head whipped around to her.

Before either of them could say anything, another voice interrupted. “Is there a reason you’re here and not off getting married?”

Her arms rose to curl around her torso, hugging herself, “That’s exactly what I was wondering.”

The Professor grunted, eyeing her carefully before glancing at his brother, “Better get you back before you’re missed then.”

She nodded hesitantly as the Time Lords moved to the controls. As the ship grinded to life, she bit her lip in thought. Was this some sort of sign? Was she crazy to not want to go through with the wedding after everything seemed to go wrong? It wasn’t even that much. Just a missing necklace and now…this. Whatever this was. But that was part of the problem, wasn’t it? Her job dealt with the strange and unexplainable on a nearly daily basis. Rhys hadn’t been shy about letting her know his distaste of her work. Had fought her at almost every turn since she joined up. They hardly felt like a couple anymore. And that was the man she was supposed to be marrying.

Gwen felt a buzzing in her mind a second before the TARDIS lurched to the side, sending her and the two pilots sprawling across the grating. Slightly nauseous, she climbed to shaky legs and glanced around her. The long tube (she forgot what it was called exactly, though Jack and the Time Lords couldn’t shut up about it) in the middle of the console was flashing oddly, her head pulsing along with it and making her feel dizzy. Distantly, she could hear the Time Lords arguing loudly, but the buzzing in her head seemed to be getting louder, making it hard to hear anything at all. It wasn’t until a loud bang sounded and she fell once more to the grating that Gwen was able to think past the buzzing. A billowing black plume of smoke was rising out of the console ominously while the Doctor sprayed at it with a fire extinguisher. The sight made even more dread settle in her stomach. She didn’t believe in signs, she didn’t. And yet…

Two large hands caught her around the waist and hauled her up and out the door faster than she could have done it herself. Crisp English air greeted them along with the typical smells of alleys like the one the TARDIS had parked in. Gwen couldn’t immediately recognize her surroundings, even after she had drifted toward the mouth of the alley to look around. They’d parked near a busy shopping district, cars whizzing past as people hurried down the street, not minding the woman in the wedding dress now leaning against the wall of shop nearest her. She wasn’t sure where exactly they’d landed, but she knew it was nowhere near the church she was supposed to be currently inside of.

“Gwen?” the Doctor’s voice made her turn her head. He was standing beside her, hands deep in the pockets of his overcoat, a frown on his face as he stared at her. “Are you alright?”

“I…” She didn’t know. There was something seriously wrong with this whole day and all she wanted to do was go back to the hub and hide in Jack’s office like he sometimes lets her do when Owen is being particularly annoying.

“I don’t…” She couldn’t say that though. She couldn’t tell one of her best friend’s best friend that she maybe wasn’t as in love with her fiancé as she thought. And that maybe she was kinda sorta in love with said best friend instead. She couldn’t say that she didn’t want to actually get married.

“This isn’t…” What was she supposed to say?

“The TARDIS is recalibrating. She’s recalibrating…digesting.” The Professor stepped up beside them, frowning at nothing, “Not sure what’s wrong exactly.”

Gwen took a deep breath. This she could do. Focus on the mystery of how she ended up on the TARDIS in the first place. Do her job. Keep herself distracted from the thoughts swirling around in her head like a tornado, ripping up her entire world like it was nothing more than a Lego village.

“It has something to do with me, hasn’t it? That’s the only explanation.”

The Professor turned to her, eyes flicking over her expression as if in search of something. Finally he nodded and turned back to frowning at the air instead.

“But what?” The Doctor began babbling a mile a minute as he asked about anything that may have caused this. Strange occurrences, contact with aliens, anything that happened at work, but Gwen couldn’t think of anything. She began to chew on her lips in thought, a sick feeling twisting in her gut at the thought of being some sort of alien experimentation without ever knowing.

The thought, as well as the Doctor’s babbling was cut off when a cell phone began ringing sharply. The Professor promptly slipped a futuristic cell phone out of his pocket and answered with barely a glance at the caller ID.

“Billie…Yes, we have her. How did you…Ah. Yes…Yes, we’ll meet you there…Love you too.” The last words were said quieter, more privately, and Gwen glanced down at her hands unconsciously twisting in the fabric of her gown. The Doctor failed to cover his snicker with a cough and the Professor retaliated with a quick smack. Gwen hid a grin as much as possible as she began to trail after the bickering brothers heading seemingly mindlessly down the street.

“We’re meeting Billie and Josie at the Hub,” the Professor finally said as he attempted to flag down a taxi. “They found something in your apartment they want us to look at.”

“They did?” Gwen asked, shocked. She never brought work home with her. Rhys would have a fit if she did. What on earth could be there? “What?”

The Professor shrugged, “Didn’t say.”

“Wait. Shouldn’t we be heading to the church?” the Doctor asked in confusion.

Gwen shook her head, “S’probably too late now. Missed it.”

The Doctor looked truly apologetic, thought, thankfully, he didn’t say anything as they continued down the road in search of transportation.


	28. The Runaway Bride: Something Borrowed

Jack had been in a state of panic since he first realized Gwen was missing. He was so frenzied, he’d almost missed the brief look of relief cross Rhys’ face when he told him his fiancé was nowhere to be found. Almost. Instead, a more solid lump of dread had dropped into the pit of stomach and settled, making him loath the sight of the man even more than usual. Something was very, very wrong and he sure as hell was going to find out.

The phone rang and rang on the other end of his. He bounced from foot to foot in anxious energy as he waited, peeking into the church where Owen, Ianto, and Tosh were busy trying to calm everyone down. Rhys stood off to the side, expressionless. Jack frowned but moved away from the doorway as the person he’d been trying to reach for the past ten minutes finally answered.

“Sparrow. Sorry, we’re uh, kinda in a pickle right now,” Josie babbled, sounding stressed.

His frown deepened, “What happened?”

“Billie and I came to Gwen’s house to find a necklace she forgot. It was really important to her, you know? Anyway, we stumbled across something…strange. We can explain more in person. Billie called the Professor and he and the Doctor are meeting us at the Hub. But uh…”

“What?” Jack asked, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. What else could go wrong today? He hadn’t even been able to tell them about Gwen going missing yet.

“They said Gwen’s with them.”

All the air in his lungs left him in a gust and he stumbled back until he hit a wall, only to slide down to the ground. “She okay?”

Josie swore, “You guys noticed she went missing already?”

Jack chuckled humorlessly, “Josie, the ceremony was supposed to start twenty minutes ago.”

“Oh,” there was a long pause as she contemplated that. “Right. Well, yes she’s fine. Terrified, probably ‘cause she apparently just appeared on the TARDIS out of nowhere, but she’s fine. The Doctor and the Professor are taking her to the Hub now so we can figure out what’s going on. You should probably meet us there too.”

He nodded even though Josie couldn’t see and forced himself to his feet, mind already rolling through everything that he knew of that could transport Gwen to the TARDIS while it was flying. Admittedly not much. He took a bracing breath and quickly wrapped up his phone call with his sister. He flagged down Owen and told him what was happening, ordering him, Ianto, and Tosh to stay and try to keep everyone calm, maybe start sending people home if they didn’t want to wait. Jack doubted they’d be having a wedding anymore today. Rhys came up right as they were finishing speaking and demanded to know what had happened. Reluctantly, Jack told him. He may not like the man, and he may doubt his worthiness of being married to Gwen, but he couldn’t not tell him where his fiancé was. Gwen was more than capable of taking care of Rhys should she need to. And if not, he could think of several people who would be willing to make Rhys quietly disappear. Half of them legally.

Naturally, Rhys refused to be left behind, so Jack was forced to take him along to the Hub. He had never felt the need to ban a person from the Hub before, but damn if he didn’t now. Unfortunately, he was forced to deal with the man as they hurried down the steps and past the cog door. He stopped at the sight of Josie sitting on top of Tosh’s desk, idly fiddling with a Rubik’s Cube while Billie sat in the chair, frowning at the computer monitor as she tried to navigate Tosh’s overly complicated programing. Looked like the Time Lords weren’t there yet with Gwen.

“Where’s Gwen?” Rhys snapped. “You said you were going to get her.”

Josie scowled at the man beside her brother but Billie didn’t even bother turning around as she answered, “They should be here in a minute. Rhys can I ask you to look at something?”

Rhys narrowed his eyes at the diminutive brunette but did as bid. Jack followed to get a look at what the girls found in the couple’s apartment. Several tubes of a mysterious glowing liquid were gathered on the desk between the two women. It wasn’t like anything he had seen before, that was for sure, but Rhys apparently didn’t feel the same. A look of panic flashed across his face before he could stifle it and turn away.

“Rhys?” He prodded carefully, “Do you know what this is?”

His fists clenched along with his jaw, “Something alien? Something that shouldn’t have been in my house! I never wanted Gwen to join Torchwood! I knew! I knew something like this would happen! I told her!” And with that final shout, Rhys marched off, ignoring the others and charging back up the stairs before even Jack could stop him.

“I feel like we missed something,” Josie announced after a beat of silence.

“Did he…” Billie frowned at the glowing tubes, “Did he recognize them? Or was that just me?”

“No,” Jack shook his head. “No he definitely recognized them.”

“So what now?” Josie asked.

Before he could answer the sound of the hidden elevator started up and their heads all whipped around to see two Time Lords and a bride slowly being lowered into the Hub. Jack immediately hurried to the elevator’s side, reaching up to swing Gwen down before it even came to a complete stop. A sigh of relief left him as he hugged her tight, not minding one bit that she held him just as tightly.

“You okay?” he breathed into her hair.

She nodded meekly, worrying him. Gwen had never been meek. Even with everything they had to deal with, even when she was at her most terrified, she was never meek. He squeezed her tighter to his chest and rubbed her back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. She seemed to relax slightly in his hold, but still refused to look at him.

“What do you mean, this is bad?” Josie’s voice dragged his attention away from the bride. “How bad? What is that stuff, exactly?”

Gently, Jack lead Gwen over to where the others were examining the weird glowing tubes. The Professor was frowning while running his sonic screwdriver over one with Billie hovering close to his side. Josie was scowling at the Doctor whose wide-eyed look of horror did nothing to reassure any of them. Jack squeezed Gwen’s hip where his arm still rested around her waist. Whatever it was, he refused to believe they couldn’t handle it. Gwen would be fine.

The Doctor turned to Gwen, “I’m so sorry Gwen.”

Josie smacked him at the look of panic on Gwen’s face.

“What is it?” Jack snapped.

“Huon Particles,” the Professor answered.

Jack blinked at the alien, hoping for a longer explanation. When he got none, he snapped yet again, “What? That’s impossible! They haven’t existed in billions of years!”

“We know that,” the Doctor snapped back. “It was our people that got rid of them!”

“Why?” Gwen asked quietly, still looking a bit shocked by the events of the day. “Why did they get rid of them?”

The Doctor hesitated, leaving the Professor to give the bad news, “Because they were dangerous. Deadly.”

Gwen’s wide eyes returned to the Doctor, “Why did you apologize earlier?”

“Because,” the Doctor hesitated again, but this time no one stepped in to save him. “Because someone has been poisoning you. They’ve slowly been feeding this to you over a period of time. That’s how you managed to get onto the TARDIS midflight…”

Jack tuned out as the Doctor continued to babble, his eyes locked with his sisters. There was one man that all three siblings _knew_ would have the best chance to poison Gwen. Looked like Rhys knew about the Huon Particles after all.


	29. The Runaway Bride: Something Blue

Gwen felt like she was wading through a fog. Everything seemed hazy and distant since she’d received the news that she’d been poisoned. She only vaguely recalled Jack barking orders into his phone while the two aliens took apart old computers and pieced them together to form some sort of mechanical monstrosity. The sisters gently ushered her out of the room towards the locker rooms where they had some spare clothes. Changing out of the frilly wedding dress was far more cathartic than she expected. The distant fuzzy part of her awareness finally snapped, allowing her to piece everything together. With a growl, she began to tear at the lace and satin in her hands, the ripping noises only egging on her building rage. She continued her destruction to her carefully styled hair until it hung about her face in frizzy disarray. Moving to the sink, she avoided her reflection as she roughly scrubbed her skin free of her make-up. 

She practically snarled as a hand settled on her shoulder. Her hands were considerably claw-like when she whirled around and tried to attack whoever had interrupted her. The person was bigger than her, both in height and width and he easily caught her in a bear hug, trapping her hands between them. She only struggled a moment before the familiar whispered voice penetrated her anger and she realized she was sobbing quite loudly into Jack’s dress shirt. Her entire body gave up its will to stay upright as she sagged against him. Jack gently sank to the floor with her, his arms like steel bands around her waist, keeping her securely against him. 

They sat together, her cradled in his lap, for an unknown amount of time, until finally she sobs subsided into quiet hiccups and she simply felt exhausted. She felt his large hand run through her hair once and his lips press fondly to the crown of her head.

“It’s alright,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. Everything will be alright.”

And for the first time in she didn't know how long, Gwen believed those words.

* * *

Billie chewed on her lip as her eyes stayed trained on the door behind which her brother was currently comforting the woman he was in love with. The whole situation was fucked up and it completely broke her heart. She felt the Professor press against her back and his arms wrap around her. A sigh escaped as she leaned in the embrace.

“She’ll be alright,” his rough voice whispered in her ear.

“Will she?” she asked quietly.

The Professor didn’t answer, instead cuddling her close as he changed the subject, “Tosh is on her way back. You and Josie are going to stay here with her and Gwen while we track down the bastard and find out how he got his hands on Huon Particles. We’ve already set up the machines to purge everything from her system. We’ll set her up and she should be good by the time we get back.”

For once, Billie didn’t argue about being left behind. The day had been long and emotional for everyone. She just wanted to curl up with the Professor, put on a Disney movie, and forget about the world for the rest of the night. She squeezed his hand where it rested against her stomach to signal she understood the plan and tilted her head to look back and up at him.

“Just so you know, you ever try to pull anything like this, and I’m throwing you off the TARDIS and into a black hole.”

He smiled humorlessly, understanding her need to move on from this and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before stepping away. She watched him disappear back into the main Hub area and took a deep breath. Once more unto the breach.


	30. Mockingbird: Little Lost Boy

It all started with a cry. A tiny cry piercing the otherwise still night.

Well, technically if he was being completely honest with himself it had been a long time coming. Even before they got together, jealousy would bubble low in his stomach every time the little brunette would give her attention elsewhere. Usually he’d been able to curb the feeling, or got her attention back by being clever (or annoying, depending on who told the story). It got worse once they “became official” as Josie and Jack liked to put it. He couldn’t stand other men, or women for that matter, coming on to her. Or even simply being more friendly than necessary. But he hadn’t thought it could escalate to the level it did when she found _him_.

They’d been out on a date, the Doctor having dropped them off on earth during the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. They’d been enjoying the time alone together immensely, eating dinner at a nice (but not too fancy) Italian restaurant and splurging on Venusian wine. Billie was pleasantly pink cheeked and smiling when they had left, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head resting against his shoulder while he pressed his nose into her hair, his own arm possessively tight around her shoulders. They had decided to take a walk around the park down the road from the restaurant before calling for their ride.

All night the Professor had been keeping a tight rein on certain…urges. The formfitting dress Billie had chosen to wear had not been one ounce of help, but he’d been the perfect gentlemen, as always. Still, he couldn’t resist pulling her down onto a half hidden bench beneath some blooming cherry trees and nuzzling her neck playfully as she giggled. She smacked his shoulder lightly but didn’t pull away from his wandering hands.

That was when they were interrupted by the most startling noise. Billie jerked back as the high-pitched howl pierced the air, “What the…”

He shushed her, listening carefully as the sound of running feet through the leaves and debris scattered around the ground. He shot up, darting after the sound instinctively. He didn’t realize Billie had failed to follow him until he was a good three blocks away. He froze where he stood eyes darting around for the lean, dark figure he’d been _sure_ was just in front of him and swore when he failed to catch sight of it, nor Billie. Forced to turn back, he stomped away, following that internal sense that always led him to the tiny brunette.

The Professor found Billie not far from where he’d left her, down a nearby alley on her knees as she cradled what looked to be a bundle of dirty rags to her chest. He wrinkled his nose in distaste as he wandered closer until a quiet giggle that was far too young sounding to belong to Billie drifted through the air followed by Billie’s answering chuckle. His blood ran cold with dread as Billie carefully stood and turned to face him. She was indeed holding a bunch of dirty rags but it was what was swaddled within them that had her attention. A tiny green and black swirled skinned humanoid with tiny horns poking out of dust colored hair and orange eyes blinked at him briefly before cuddling into _his_ human’s chest.

It was then that the Professor made what he would later realize was one of the greatest mistakes he could ever make with Billie. He scowled and crossed his arms, shifting into a fighting stance, “No.”

Soft brown eyes turned up to him, “Excuse me?”

“You can’t keep him.”

She frowned, eyes narrowing as her arms carefully tightened around her newest charge. The Professor briefly flashed back to when a much younger Billie had given the same defiant look to her Aunt when she was told she couldn’t keep the noseless dog from Barcelona (the planet not the city) she had stumbled across during a trip. That incident had ended with Billie not speaking to Sarah Jane for an entire month and still managing to sneak the damn animal onto his ship. The fuzzy creature ended up being helpful when they needed a gift, a _living_ gift to give to the royalty of Carsus IV and they sure as hell weren’t giving up any of their companions.

That same edge of determined stubbornness glinted in Billie’s eyes now as the baby giggled, making the hairs on the back of the Professor’s neck stand on end. _He was so fucked._

* * *

The Doctor was having a lovely day. After having dropped off the TARDIS’s resident couple for their date, he’d drifted back into the Time Vortex, simply drifting as he and Josie retreated to his work room. He began tinkering with various machines as she curled up in her chair, sketching idly. It had been relaxing, going back to the start of their friendship when things were so much easier. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but somewhere along the way their relationship had become…more. And yet exactly the same. He didn’t know what to make of it and he didn’t want to ruin anything by mentioning it. So he did what he did best. He ignored it and pretended nothing was wrong; he didn’t see the looks she sometimes shot him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. It was working. Really. They were fine.

The peace that had settled over them, however, couldn’t last. And when it broke it broke with a bang. Or a scream really. High pitched and tiny as if filtered through the halls of the TARDIS. He and Josie shared a wide-eyed look before they bolted for the door. They made it halfway to the console room before they stumbled across the noise – which happened to be a wriggling baby alien held tightly in Billie’s arms as she and the Professor had the mother of all glare-offs. The Doctor took an instinctual step back as the couple swung their gazes to the newcomers.

“Um,” Josie spoke hesitantly beside him. “What happened?”

“How did you two get here?” he questioned half a second later, before Billie could answer Josie. “We’re still in the Vortex.”

The Professor grunted, arms crossed defensively, “No we’re not. You parked a block away from the restaurant.” The TARDIS nudged his mind then, letting him know she’d landed when Billie called her. The Doctor nodded in understanding as he turned back to the girls who were whispering, heads bent together over the baby as Billie rocked him, calming him from whatever distress plagued his short life.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and motioned toward them questioningly. The Professor sighed and began replaying what had happened in his mind, showing how Billie had found the baby and now seemed determined to care for the little thing. The Doctor could also see that under normal circumstances the Professor would follow her lead. It was a baby, either abandoned or stolen. It needed love and care until they could find out which and decide where to go from there. But the simple fact that Billie hadn’t followed him, had turned her attention to the little thing instead, and had since only argued with him, made the Professor’s natural possessive jealousy rear its ugly head yet again. And the Doctor flat out refused to get caught in the middle. Especially after finally having gotten rid of the anger directed at him after the whole “kicking Billie off the TARDIS” incident.

Stepping away from his brother, he took Josie’s hand, gently tugging her away, “How about Josie and I figure out where that little one came from? You two can…” he trailed off, waving at Billie to indicate they should continue on as they were before he turned tail and ran (figuratively) back the way he’d come, Josie trailing behind him.


	31. Mockingbird: Blow Ups and Baby Blues

It was all _his_ fault. No, not his, _it_. The Professor refused to think of it as a he anymore. None of this would have happened if Billie hadn’t found _it_ that night. He wouldn’t be feeling…whatever it was he was feeling while being trapped inside the TARDIS with Billie and _it_. Normally he wouldn’t mind being alone with his favorite human, but with _it_ along, everything seemed much more complicated.

A cooing noise made him look up scowling at where Billie sat in her favorite armchair by the fire in the library, cuddling the tiny alien baby who was happily waving its arms at her, trying to catch the loose brown locks falling in her face. It seemed even little babies could be charmed by his sweet little Billie Jean. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Suddenly the Professor had all these urges, all this wanting. And it was all _its_ fault.

Billie stood carefully, now rocking the drowsy baby as she carried it to the cot in the corner to settle it down for a nap. She bent over and kissed _its_ little nose before straightening, a serene smile on her lips, “Sweet dreams, little one.”

He snapped. It was all too much for him to take. Pushing himself out of his chair, he crossed the room in four long strides, coming to a stop in front of a curious looking Billie. Without thinking, he swooped down, gathering her close in an embrace before crushing his lips to hers. For one sweet moment, Billie melted against him, humming in approval. Then that moment was gone. Between one stuttering breath and the next, Billie stiffened and yanked her head back. A sharp pain blossomed on his cheek from where her hand connected to it sharply. He blinked in surprise as Billie stumbled back a step, eyes pure fire and her hand pressed to her lips.

“You can’t…” she paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to center herself before she continued. “You can’t just… _grab_ me and…and… _kiss_ me and assume it’ll fix everything.”

His teeth clenched, refusing to allow his eyes to water. Billie was trembling slightly in front of him, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides until suddenly she seemed to deflate. Her shoulders drooped and air rushed out of her lungs noisily. Her arms came up to hug herself.

“I just…” she whispered, shaking her head weakly, “I don’t _understand_ , Professor. What happened? We were so happy, and then suddenly…” she looked down and the Professor felt his hearts break a little at the tears in her voice. What had he done? She swallowed audibly, “Is it ‘cause of the baby? Are you… Do you… We probably won’t have him long, you know? The Doctor and Josie are looking into who abandoned him. I’m sure they’ll… I know you probably don’t want a baby on the TARDIS…”

“Billie,” he cut her off gently, realizing how it would come across. Their relationship was still so new. They hadn’t talked about marriage, let alone children, even though he knew for a fact that she was it for him. There would never be another for him. And the image of them with children? It was far more than he had ever hoped for. But naturally she took his irritability for a dislike of children, for him not wanting any young ones at all. Even ones that she might be willing to gift them with.

Cautiously, so as not to upset her, he took the two steps that separated them in order to cup her face. His thumbs brushed tears from her cheeks as he tipped her face up to see brown orbs still glistening. He pressed a quick reassuring kiss to her forehead, “It was never the baby. Or you. It was me. I…”

When he hesitated, her brow furrowed, “Professor.”

He shook his head to stop her, “I’ve always been possessive, Billie. And jealous. Haven’t you noticed?”

Her cheeks reddened at the low growl his voice had turned into. Humor rose from behind the lingering anger, “A baby? You were jealous of a _baby_?”

He leaned down to press his forehead to hers, “Anything that takes your attention from me must feel my jealousy.”

She grinned and giggled lightly, “You silly man.” Her arms wrapped around his middle, tugging him closer so she could press her cheek into his jumper, “The baby needs me right now. Trust me, I’ve been _very_ aware of you all day.”

He grinned smugly into her hair and he buried his nose there to inhale her shampoo, “Oh?”

He felt her lips press briefly to his chest. “Mm-hmm.”

His grin widened, “Fantastic.”

* * *

It was the middle of the night cycle on the TARDIS. The Doctor and Josie still hadn’t made it back yet, though they had checked in briefly. There was no sign of anyone who could have left the baby. They were still tracking down what planet he could be from without running any invasive tests on the, most likely, already traumatized infant. The Professor and Billie had relocated with the baby to their rooms which now had a baby bassinette tucked in the corner, out of the way, but close enough for one of them to collect the baby quickly if need be.

Billie snuffled in her sleep, curling closer to his chest. The Professor combed his fingers gently through her hair, trying to avoid snagging them on too many tangles. She settled down rather quickly, exhausted from the emotionally turbulent day. Honestly, the Professor felt just as tired, but the new presence in his bedroom was making it hard to fall asleep. He sighed as he heard renewed snuffling, this time coming from the cradle. He didn’t wasn’t to wake Billie. She deserved an uninterrupted sleep after the day she had, after the stress he put her through. Easing out from beneath her light weight, he maneuvered himself off the bed without waking his…girlfriend? Lover? He honestly had no idea what to call her. But she stayed asleep even as the baby began fussing even more.

“Hush now,” he whispered as he approached the cradle. “Don’t wanna wake Billie, now do you?”

The tiny being made an annoyed noise at him like he had insulted him for implying otherwise. The Professor couldn’t help but to grin at the thought. He reached down to carefully ease his hands around the little boy and brought him to his chest, cradling his head with one large hand while the other cupped his diapered bottom. The reason for the fussy behavior quickly became apparent. The Professor wrinkled his nose as he moved to the changing table that had appeared beside the dresser on the opposite side of the room.

“Time for a diaper change, I think,” he murmured.

A moment later he was slipping back onto the bed. Unfortunately, with the baby still curled against his chest, he wasn’t as graceful, and Billie blinked up at him sleepily just as he had settled against the headboard.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispered, but she shook her head.

“Is Ezra alright?”

One eyebrow rose as he looked down at where she was pressing her head against his hip, one hand lifting to brush against the thin baby hair. “Ezra?”

She smiled sheepishly, “I had to call him something, didn’t I? Plus I always liked that name. I think I read somewhere that it means help.” She shrugged.

His eyes turned to the now sleeping baby who was steadily drooling on his sleep shirt. A sense of peace settled over him. Something he had thought he knew since Billie had entered his life. Who would have thought something could have enhanced that feeling? In that moment he knew their lives would never be the same. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too heartbreaking.


	32. Mockingbird: Building A Family

The Doctor frowned at the screen, his mind whirling around the possibilities. They could take the baby back to its home planet but the Awagi were a slave race. What sort of life would he grow up in? He wasn’t sure Billie would allow them to leave the baby there. She had already gotten so attached. And the Professor would never do anything to upset her, even if he didn’t particularly like whatever plan she had concocted. Josie had shrugged and wandered back to her room after they came back from trying to find the baby’s family. She wasn’t the least bit concerned about this dilemma. But the Doctor was very concerned. Their life wasn’t built for babies. Even taking small children was a risk, though they’ve done it with both their current companions.

A baby, though, was a whole other problem. A baby would rely entirely on them to take care of him. How could they guarantee the safety of a baby when they couldn’t even guarantee the safety of each other? It wasn’t as though he _liked_ the idea of giving a defenseless child back into a life of servitude, but what sort of life could they give him? A life of running from one life threatening experience to another? They had already pulled Josie and Billie into that life early on. Could they do that to a teeny tiny baby too?

With a sigh, he scrubbed a hand down his face. It didn’t matter, he supposed, what he thought. Billie clearly already claimed the baby as her own. She and the Professor would be the ones to decide the baby’s fate. The Doctor mentally reached out for his brother, finding him awake and prepared to come speak with him.

The younger Time Lord leaned back in the jump seat, trying to relax as he waited. When the Professor finally appeared from the hall, he had a small smile playing at the corner of his lips, his expression fond and loving. An expression on Billie seemed to pull out of him. The Doctor knew then, they were screwed. Whatever Billie had done or said _had_ to have been with the baby. She hadn’t let the thing out of her sight since she found it, and if she managed to soften the Professor’s heart to it, the baby would stay. No matter what the Doctor said about the situation, the baby would stay.

Another sigh escaped him as he stood and motioned toward the view screen, explaining what he’d found.

The Professor’s brow furrowed, “We’re not sending Ezra back there.”

The Doctor began to nod in understanding, having anticipated that answer, then froze. His eyes widened and turned to his brother, “You _named_ him?”

“Billie did.”

The Doctor continued to stare at his brother, waiting for some sort of explanation. He threw his hands up in defeat when it became clear he wasn’t getting any. “Well fine then. Don’t mind me.”

The Professor nodded and wandered back toward the living area of the TARDIS. The Doctor huffed in irritation and flopped back onto the seat. A giggle interrupted his sulk. A look revealed Josie leaning against a railing and looking thoroughly entertained.

“Oh, shut up,” he grumped.

* * *

There was once a time when he may have feared this. A time when seeing the love of his life rocking an alien baby that was so clearly _not_ biologically his on an alien planet may have twisted his hearts in pain and fear of what he was losing. But now, watching Billie hold their newly adopted son while Theta babbled on about the Medusa Cascade, he felt lighter than he ever had, almost floating. The weight he’d carried for ages was finally lifted completely. There were no more holes in his heart. He was complete.

And yet, there was something tugging at the edge of his mind. Something to perfect the image in front of him. He knew what it was. Had known for some time now what he wanted and how to get it. The box was a heavy weight in his jacket pocket. A reminder.

Stepping up behind Billie, he draped his arms around her waist, helping her cradle little Ezra against her chest. Her baby. _Their_ baby. The one they chose to keep for themselves. They were a family now. If only he could work up his courage…

“Marry me,” he blurted. Well, more like whispered to himself. But of course, he had his perspective fiancé pressed against his chest. So of course, she heard. And of course, she laughed nervously.

“What?” She twisted slightly to look up at him, wide eyes cautiously hopeful. He took a deep breath. Oh well, in for a penny and all that…

“Marry me,” he said more steadily, not quite a question.

She gaped at him a moment, not seeming to realize the Doctor and Josie standing feet away, silent and acting like they weren’t watching as closely as they were. He took her momentary shock in order to lift Ezra from her arms and hand him off to his Uncle. The Doctor grinned encouragingly as he took the baby and Josie was practically vibrating in excitement.

Knowing that Sarah Jane would kill him if he didn’t do this right, the Professor slid down to one knee in front of Billie. “Oh my God,” she whispered, eyes wide.

“Billie Jean Harkness-Smith,” he stated plainly, deciding to keep it simple. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she answered a second before he finished asking. “Yes, of course.”

With a wide grin he stood, lifting her up in a tight embrace and swinging her around in a circle. A light applause from their family and a few random tourists who were there on holiday. The kissed briefly but passionately, not wanting to cause any more of a scene, and Billie hopped back to the Doctor to take Ezra back. The Professor wrapped his arms around them once more with a sigh of contentment.


	33. Family Reunion: Uncle Jack

Billie smiled down at her son as his itty bitty, chubby hands reached up to try to catch her brown curls, “Ready to meet your uncle?”

Ezra gurgled happily, blowing spit bubbles that dribbled down his chin. Billie wiped away the saliva with the soft square of fabric she kept on her at all times for just that reason. She felt the TARDIS give a small lurch as she landed, much more gentle than before the baby came aboard, and hitched the diaper bag up onto her shoulder in order to make her way to the console room. The voices of her family drifted down the corridor as she drew closer. Contentment settled in her heart at the sound. When she was little, before Aunt Sarah Jane had adopted her, she had never thought she would ever get a family like this. She thought she was doomed to live in an unhappy home her whole life. She had more now than she ever thought she would, and it was all thanks to the Professor. He gave her more than he would ever know, and she didn’t know how to even begin to repay him, while knowing she would never have to.

“Ready?” Josie chirped when she noticed her sister. The redhead was already bouncing excitedly on her feet near the doors.

Billie chuckled and nodded, moving to stand beside the other woman while the waited for the Time Lords to finish fiddling with the console. Before they could, however, the door swung open and a familiar brunette man poked his head in, with a wide charming smile.

“Sparrow!” Josie crowed happily, jumping into their brother’s arms.

“Hey there, pussycat,” he laughed, setting her back down on her feet after a moment. “And there’s…are you holding a baby?” His brow creased in confusion.

Billie grinned, “Jack, meet your new nephew, Ezra.”

His eyes widened in amazement, his hand reaching out automatically to take hold of the tiny being currently cradled in his sister’s arms. Orange eyes blinked up at him in curiosity.

“Wow,” he whispered. “When did this happen?”

“A couple weeks ago. Long story.”

“And you didn’t mention it because?”

Billie shrugged, “Figured it’d be more believable face-to-face.”

Before he could answer, the door behind him slammed shut, making the three siblings jump in shock. Jack quickly passed the baby back to his mother and turned to try to pry the doors back open. The Professor and Doctor came up behind the women, carefully maneuvering them back away from the doors. Billie and Josie shared a look before moving to the jump seats, now equipped with a baby seat and seat belts for safety. A second after she had Ezra strapped in, the TARDIS lurched sharply, throwing the sisters to the grating. Billie’s head bounced painfully off the metal, making her vision turn white for a long moment. Distantly, she could hear Ezra cry out and the Time Lords scrambling to figure out what had happened. The blurry face of her brother appeared above her, his mouth moving, though she couldn’t make out any sound. Her brow furrowed. That couldn’t be good. Neither was the black creeping along her peripherals.

* * *

“Shit,” Jack hissed as Billie blinked a few times, eyes unfocused, before her eyes slipped closed and didn’t open again. “Professor!”

Immediately, the Time Lord was at his side, pushing him away to look at his fiancé. (Because telling Jack they were engaged was fine, but not that they had a son. When they finished whatever mess they were in, he was going to have a long talk with his sister.) Jack moved away to where Josie was now holding the crying Ezra, the baby seeming to sense that his mother was injured.

“You alright?” he asked the red head.

“Yeah. A little jostled, but I won’t have more than a bruise or two.”

He nodded, “And Ezra?”

“Just a little upset.”

He ran a hand over the top of the baby’s head in a soothing motion that was completely ignored. Not that he’d blame the poor thing.

“Josie, bring Ezra,” the Professor ordered, scooping up the unconscious brunette as he stood, “I need to take Billie to the infirmary.”

Josie nodded, following after the Time Lord. Jack moved back over to the Doctor, looking over his shoulder at the screen he was staring at. Beyond the doors of the TARDIS lay an empty white room with no windows. Artificial light made the walls almost blinding, to the point where Jack could barely make out the line of double doors in the corner of the view screen.

“Any idea where we are?” he asked the Time Lord.

The Doctor blew out a frustrated huff, “No. Someone’s blocking my sensors. I can’t see anything besides this room we’ve landed in.”

“But how’d we get here? We weren’t in flight.”

“Someone must have pulled us here. But for what?”

Josie emerged once again, baby-less, “The Professor said Billie should be fine. He’s already healing her concussion up. He’s going to stay here with her and Ezra. Now, what’s going on?”

“We don’t know,” Jack answered as the Doctor slammed an open palm against the side of the screen.

Josie sighed, “Great. So much for a family vacation.”

Jack gave a rueful smile in return.

“Only one thing to do, then,” the Doctor jumped back from the console, swung his coat on, and headed for the door. The siblings hurried to catch up as the Time Lord crashed through the door. The room they found themselves in was exactly as it had appeared on the view screen. Jack blinked to adjust his eyes to the bright light shining from seemingly every direction. The Doctor was already at the door, using his Sonic to try to open it. Going by the creative swears flowing from him, nothing was working. They began circling the room trying to find some other exit. But it was useless.

Josie sighed a moment later, leaning against the TARDIS, “What now?”

The doors in front of them, the ones they hadn’t been able to open not ten minutes ago, hissed before slowly sliding apart, making them all jump. Jack and the Doctor moved to stand partially in front of Josie. Mist rolled ominously out of the doorway as a figure emerged. Jack resisted rolling his eyes. This was all just so cliché.

The figure finally stepped into the small ring of light where the time travelers were being held against their will and Jack had to bite back a curse, settling for a harsh glare (one to rival the Professor’s) instead.

“Hello, Jack,” the deep voice of the newcomer reverberated through the air.

“Hello…Dad.”


	34. Family Reunion: Franklin and Gray

The solid thuds of a baseball hitting the ground repeatedly was the only sound echoing in the cell the three travelers had been placed in. Josie and the Doctor sat across from each other, bouncing said ball back and forth lazily, while Jack paced near the metallic door.

“They won’t be able to get in the TARDIS,” the Doctor reiterated for what seemed the millionth time.

“But they know your brother is still in there,” Jack ran a hand through his hair distractedly. No one mentioned the others housed in the ship. As far as they knew, their imprisoners weren’t aware of mother and child. And they weren’t particularly eager to inform them.

“Doesn’t change the fact that they can’t break down the door.”

Jack sighed, finally forcing himself to stop pacing and slump down next to his sister, “I don’t like Dad being here. It’s more personal. He took a contract for his own son!”

“What do you mean?” Josie leaned her head down against his shoulder as the Doctor pocketed the baseball. “What contract?”

“It’s the only reason we would have been pulled here. Someone put out a contract on us. Obviously not for us being dead, but definitely including me. They waited until I was on the ship before they pulled it here. They didn’t know who you were, so it must be for something before you started traveling with the Doc and Teach.”

“Any idea what it is?” Jack shrugged in answer and they turned to the Time Lord.

The Doctor stared up at the ceiling in thought. “Weeeell, it could be any number of things, really. There’s plenty of people who don’t exactly agree with what we do. Especially in the Time Agency.”

The siblings nodded in understanding as the trio lapsed into silence. There was nothing more to say. The creak of the door opening drew their attention, though none decided to stand as two men entered. Jack stared up at his father and brother with a blank face. He hadn’t seen Gray since he left home all those years ago. He had grown up so much since then. His brown hair was cropped short and slicked back away from his face. There was a hard edge to his blue eyes that hadn’t been there the last time Jack had seen him. His uniform was expertly tailored, fitted across broad shoulders and toned arms. He stood at parade rest just behind their father, not making eye contact with any of the prisoners.

Franklin Harkness, however, looked much as he always had. A few more wrinkles creased his face and his hair was a little grayer, but he was otherwise the same stern figure who had once walked out on his family. On several families. Jack turned away before his mask could slip and reveal the disgust he felt for his father. He wasn’t sure how Gray had found the man, but it was clear he was following in his father’s footsteps. Just as Jack had once tried to do, before he met the Time Lords and formed his own opinions of the universe.

“Stand,” Franklin commanded.

Jack shared a quick look with his companions before shuffling to his feet, dragging the redhead up with him.

A file unfolded in Franklin’s hands, “We have records of every one of your companions, Doctor, but we have nothing on this woman.” Jack frowned at the comment though a small breath of relief leaked out of him. If they didn’t know Josie, they most definitely didn’t know Billie. She and the baby would be safe as long as they stayed inside the TARDIS. Franklin turned his eyes on the young woman, “Why is that?”

Josie shrugged, not one to back down, “How am I supposed to know? Maybe you need a new secretary or something.”

The Doctor grinned when the stern gaze turned back to him.

“Doctor, do you know why we summoned you here?”

The Doctor shrugged but didn’t answer.

“You are in violation three-nine-four. You will be held here until a proper punishment is decided on for you and your companions. Where is your brother?”

Jack blinked at his father but otherwise forced himself not to react. Three-nine-four wasn’t a real code within the Time Agency, unless something new had cropped up since his desertion. But it did sound oddly familiar. His eyes widened slightly as a thought crossed his mind. He looked to Gray, only to find he was already looking at him meaningfully. Jack gave the smallest of nods, showing his understanding, before turning back to the Time Lord. The Doctor silently entered his mind, pulling out the information he needed to know and giving his own nod.

“Well, you see,” the Doctor jovially answered, “He had some business to take care of, so it’s just us three today.”

“Business?” Franklin raised one eyebrow. “What business? Where?”

“Ooooh,” the Doctor reached up to tug on his ear. “Now that I think of it, I’m not certain. Could be anywhere really.”

There was a long pause as Franklin stared at the Time Lord, “I see.”

Without another word, the two Time Agents turned on their heels and exited the room, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.


	35. Family Reunion: Escape

Josie had long curled up on the hard stone floor, her head resting on Jack’s thigh. Jack had dropped off almost an hour ago, head lulling to the side as light snores began vibrating out of his chest. Judging by his internal clock, which was never wrong ( _Time Lord_ ), it was well past the middle of the night. The Professor and Billie were probably getting worried. He could only hope they stayed inside the TARDIS and didn’t go looking for them.

He leaned back against the wall and thought over what he had discovered from Jack’s mind. Three-nine-four. Just like in _Harry Potter_ , when Snape takes over Lupin’s class. A code Gray and Jack had devised when they were kids, a signal for when a bully or authority figure was trying to push them out of whatever station they were in. Not used often, but enough for it to click within Jack’s mind. They had been pulled here, not because the Time Agency was detaining them, but because Jack’s family needed help. Even if Jack wasn’t happy with his family, the Doctor knew they would be helping them. Family was the most important thing in the universe for all the time travelers. It just wasn’t in them to abandon them when they had practically begged for help.

A gentle prodding against his mind caught his attention. With a deep breath, the Doctor closed his eyes in concentration. His consciousness reached out until it touched the purple cloud that represented Billie’s mind.

_Billie! Are you alright?_

Billie’s presence seemed to sigh as they connected, _I’m alright. We all are. What happened to you three though? There’re some men in the room outside the TARDIS and the Professor can’t figure out where we are. He said the scanners are being blocked._

_The Time Agency pulled us here. Or more specifically, your father did. We don’t have all the details yet but we know he and Jack’s brother Gray are in some sort of trouble with whoever’s above them in the chain of command._

There was a pause as the Doctor felt her relaying the news to the Professor. A moment later, his presence pressed in beside his fiancé’s.

_I have a plan._

_Great,_ the Doctor cut off his brother, ‘ _Cause I have nothing._

Billie’s amusement flowed around them momentarily before her presence gently disengaged as she went to check on Ezra. The Doctor settled in to plan with his brother, hoping whatever he had in mind could be executed quickly.

* * *

Franklin was a very self-aware man. He had made many mistakes in his life, the worst of which was leaving his family to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, by the time he had come to his senses, it was too late. Jack had already left and Gray was so, so angry with him. It had taken years and lots of patience to get just one of his sons to forgive him. Jack had built a new life for himself, a new family. Franklin didn’t think he’d ever be able to piece together the family he once had, but somehow, Jack was here, willing to help him. Help his brother.

The elder Harkness turned to glance Gray as they strode down the hall of the Holding Cells. The young man was holding up well, especially under the circumstances. But Franklin knew it wouldn’t last. They were both under review with the Agency, which never ended well. Most Agents who went under review were never heard from again. A few careful questions to the most trustworthy of individuals had led to the information he know held in the files he was currently carrying.

A rising star in the Agency was out for his job, and he didn’t care who he threw to the wolves to get it. Higher up jobs were always hard to come by, even harder to come by honestly. The agent who wished for Franklin’s job had a relative, someone even closer to the top that was helping him, slowly dragging Franklin’s name through the mud, and by association, Gray’s name as well. It was time to get out, before they lost everything, including their memories. The only way to do that, however, was to know someone who the Agency couldn’t touch, no matter how hard they tried. He needed the Time Lords. More than that, he needed someone the Time Lords would trust. He had seen the file on his eldest, knew the only way he had gotten out was with the help of the aliens. It was still vague on how he’d gotten into their good graces in the first place, but Franklin wasn’t worried about that. He just needed a little bit of trust, a little forgiveness from Jack, just until he could get out, get Gray out.

He paused in front of the Time Locked room where the TARDIS was being held. There were two guards stationed outside and two more inside, just outside of the Time Lock Shield. He took a second to nod to both men who nodded back before walking away. Sometimes it was quite gratifying to have so many grunts that followed orders without question. The two inside followed the other two as Franklin stepped into the room with Gray at his side.

As the doors swished closed behind them, Gray let out a slow breath, “I can’t believe we got them here.”

“Gray,” he warned.

“I know, I know. But really. Look at it,” he waved at the large blue box in the center of the room.

Franklin nodded in understanding. They stood staring at the time machine, hoping for a plan to just come to them. He really hadn’t thought beyond bringing the aliens to their outpost. Then there was the fact that the Professor wasn’t with the group. And the mystery woman who looked oddly familiar for some reason. There seemed to be more problems than solutions since the TARDIS had landed.

He blinked as the light at the top of the box flashed, followed by several more. There was no noise or any other sign of life from the machine, no reason to think it was disappearing.

Gray gasped as the flashing continued, “It’s…It’s Morse Code!”

Franklin’s eyes widened even as Gray scrambled for a paper and pencil to write out the message. Morse Code was a bit of a lost art. Hadn’t been used in centuries. Franklin had learned it from a book he had come across in his school days and had taught his boys before he left. He had always believed it could come in handy one day. Turned out he was right.

“…O…C…K. Unlock. T…I…M…E…L…O…C…K. Time Lock. Unlock Time Lock. It’s repeating it.”

Franklin gave a firm nod. Straightening his shoulders, he pulled a small cylindrical device from his pocket and carefully removed the lock from around the TARDIS. The air around them shifted as time was allowed to flow freely again and a moment later the TARDIS door swung open. Neither man moved for a full minute before they lunged forward. This was their chance at freedom.

The door snapped shut once they crossed the threshold and Franklin stood frozen, staring around in awe at the expansive room in front of him. A tall man with big ears wearing a leather jacket stood hunched over the middle console with his back to the door. A young woman with long brown hair stood next to a seat off to the side where a baby seat was strapped in. Her low voice echoed slightly off the walls as she hummed a familiar tune to the unseen baby.

Franklin could only assume the man was the Professor, but yet again, he seemed to have found another mystery female companion with the alien. The Time Lord didn’t seem keen on speaking to them, so the elder moved around the edge of the room toward the woman. Gray followed absently, still drinking in their new surroundings. The woman didn’t acknowledge him, so he took a step closer to peer down at the baby. A shocked noise escaped him before he could stop it. Blinking up at him with orange eyes was an alien he had never seen before. Considering the appearances of the other time travelers, it was startling to see someone so incredibly _alien_.

The woman abruptly stopped humming to look up at him. He tried for an apologetic smile (after all, these people were here to help him; it wouldn’t do insult them) but faltered when he met her eyes. Melted chocolate orbs stared up at him through thick lashes. Eyes that gave him a staggering sense of déjà vu. He opened his mouth, intent to ask if they had met before, but was cut off by the gruff voice of the Professor.

“Hold on to something. This’ll be a bit bumpy.”

The woman snorted, but moved to strap herself into the seat next to the baby, “When isn’t it?”

The Professor grinned fondly at the woman and threw a switch that had the ship jolting sideways. The baby let out a loud peal of laughter as the two humans not prepared tumbled to the grating. The woman giggled as well as the Professor dashed around the controls straightening them out. The machine whined as three figures began to appear a few feet away from where Franklin had landed. A second later he watched as the Doctor bounded forward to assist his brother while the redheaded woman hurried to the other woman’s side, also strapping herself into the seat. Jack stood, brushing off his pants and moved to help Gray up. Franklin stood as well, keeping a hand on the railing in case of another sudden take off and watched his sons quietly converse.

The TARDIS jolted again, though not quite as violently as before, and vibrated around them as they left the outpost. Franklin didn’t bother to ask where they were taking him. It didn’t matter as long as it was towards safety. As the flight evened out and the rush of escape died down, the two women unbuckled and stood. The Professor made his way to them, carefully taking the baby into his arms and whispering to the brunette. With a quick kiss to her lips, he turned and headed deeper into the ship. The Doctor gave the room a wide smile before hurrying after him.

“Dad,” Jack’s voice caught his attention as he threw an arm over each woman’s shoulder and tucked them into his sides, “I’d like you to meet your daughters.”


	36. Epilogue: Starting Anew

Franklin Harkness held his pounding head in his hands, his elbows braced on the table in front of him. Out of all the things he had thought would come up when he rejoined his sons, finding out he had two daughters was not a part of it. He had long admitted to his shitty parenting, but to imagine two little girls growing up not even knowing who he was, was enough to hurt his soul.

A cup of tea appeared in front of him, the steam warming his face as he hunched over the kitchen table. Hesitantly, he lifted his eyes to his eldest daughter’s face. Her features were softened into a sympathetic smile. She didn’t say anything, sipping at her own cup of tea quietly. Josie had left the moment he confirmed who he was, apparently not interested in getting to know him. Jack had sighed and gone after her with a quick look to the female Harkness left in the console room. She had easily introduced herself and led them to the kitchen they now sat in, ignoring Gray’s awkward shifting and Franklin’s dawning horror. Grey had abandoned them when they came across the library on the way, unsubtly giving them space to chat.

“Just give her time,” the soft female voice informed him, breaking him out of his staring contest with his mug. He looked back up, unsure of when he had looked away in the first place. She shrugged, “It’s all just a bit unexpected. She’ll come around.”

He shook his head slowly, “I wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to speak to me. I don’t know why _you_ are.”

She lifted one shoulder, a half smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, “I was angry at you for a while. Mostly after I met Jack and I found out you had abandoned him.” He flinched but she continued as if she didn’t notice, “Before that…I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. You never even knew I existed. Once I was old enough to understand what that meant, I knew I couldn’t really blame you for not being there for me.”

“What made you stop being angry?” he asked slowly. “After you met Jack.”

She blew out a slow breath, standing to refill her cup, “I don’t know exactly. I just remember thinking one day that I felt bad that you’d never be able to see how happy you’re children have become. And I realized, I wasn’t angry anymore.” She shrugged as she plopped back down into her chair and spilled some tea over her hand in the process. “It wasn’t important anymore. We all had each other. Being mad at you for something that happened years ago didn’t make sense to me anymore.”

He blinked at her for a moment, “Are you sure you’re not the eldest?”

She smiled widely, the Harkness smile, “Well, if we’re going by year I was born, technically I’m older than you.”

He nearly choked on his tea at the thought, sending his daughter into a fit of laughter. Maybe it wasn’t perfect. Maybe they all had a lot of issues they still needed to work through, but it was a start. For the first time in a long time, Franklin Harkness felt a small spark of hope.


End file.
